The Aftermath is Secondary
by cgal120
Summary: SEQUEL TO "THE HEART NEVER LIES" AND "THE KIDS FROM YESTERDAY" - With William defeated, Arthur and Alfred must deal with the aftermath of the battle that tore their daughters apart whilst rebuilding a stable home for their new arrival. With magic and chaos colliding through their paths, how will they cope as more shocks are thrown in their direction. MPREG.
1. In My Time of Dying

****SEQUEL TO **_**THE HEART NEVER LIES**_** AND **_**THE KIDS FROM YESTERDAY**_******

_**The Aftermath is Secondary**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**In My Time of Dying**_

**At The End of **_**The Kids From Yesterday**_**:**

_"Doctor?" asked Arthur._

_Dr Riordan looked at them, seeming to be chewing on her words. "…The girls have mixed results…" she said. "Grace is okay, she's just resting now. We couldn't find anything wrong with her except a very bad case of fatigue."_

_"And Melinda?" asked Alfred._

_"Ah... Melinda is an entirely different case..." she said. "We've bandaged the cut on her torso again, but we had to send her into surgery after finding internal bleeding... She had a fair few knocks on her head and some broken ribs... Unfortunately, she's gone into a comatose state, and... we've put her on life support to help her breath… but it's more than likely that she won't wake up… I'm sorry…"_

They all looked at Dr Riordan in disbelief, everyone praying that she was joking and that Melinda would simply be sat up in her bed in a moment smiling at them brightly as she usually did.

"No…" Marco said, shaking his head. "She… She has to wake up… She has to!"

Lovino put his hand on Marco's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze, the boy looking at his mother with an expression that almost broke the Italian's heart. Arthur looked at them, holding his bump and trying to remain as calm as possible as Lily clung to him; he knew that in some way she knew from how Dr Riordan phrased it; her sister was asleep and might never wake up, how much simpler could it be made to a 2 year old?

"Can we see her…?" asked Marco, looking up at Antonio as he stood behind him and took Sirena. He looked to Alfred who nodded his agreement, Dr Riordan nodding her head too.

"Of course," she said. "They're both in Room 3."

"We'll stay here and wait for you, Marco," Lovino said, squeezing his son's shoulder again before sitting down in the waiting room with Antonio and Sirena.

With Arthur carrying Lily, they, Alfred, Marco and Edward made their way down to the corridor to Room 3; Alfred opening the door as he got there first, holding it open for the others to walk inside.

The two opposing beds told different stories, the group gasping slightly at the sight:

Grace was lying peacefully in her bed, breathing slowly and deeply. One of her arms was connected to an IV, most likely something to keep her blood sugar levels regular because of her fatigue. Apart from a few cuts and bruises, she looked like nothing had really happened in the Sports Hall.

Melinda, on the other hand, looked as though she had gone through the battle to end all battles. Her face was covered in various bruises and cuts, a bandaged wrapped around her head from the countless hits she took. Her arms too were hooked to an IV, but also another monitor. They could see the bandages around her chest under her hospital gown, remnants of a few broken ribs. Then there was the tube in her mouth and the line in her nose, Arthur knowing full well that it went down by her lungs to give her the oxygen her body was most likely lacking.

The two teenagers seemed very unaware of their surroundings or that they had been joined by the people that were so equally shocked by Melinda and relieved by Grace. Marco took no time in sitting beside Melinda's bed and holding her hand; Edward making his way over to Grace and giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. Arthur and Alfred stayed in the middle of the room, unable to decide who they would stand beside. Lily hid against Arthur, tears streaming down her face as soon as she saw the state Melinda was in; holding the back of her head, Arthur ran his fingers through her curls and looked to Alfred, the American seeming to only just be faring better than Lily.

"Come on, Grace…" muttered Edward, smoothing the back of his fingers against her cheek softly. "Wake up…"

"Nnn…" moaned Grace, shifting in her bed as she started to wake up. They all looked to her, moving a little closer to her as she opened her eyes. She was unfocused for a moment, but after blinking a few times her brain started to catch up. "Wha…" she said before gasping and sitting bolt upright. "Melinda!"

"Ah…" yelped Edward, putting his hands on her shoulders to help sooth her. "Grace, calm down!"

Seeming to be in a slight panic, Grace looked around the room quickly. "Where are we…" she started to say until she saw Melinda lying opposite her. "…Mel…" she said, then trying to get out of bed.

"Calm down, Grace," Edward said once more, managing to keep her in bed.

"You're in the hospital, Grace," Alfred said, gaining the girl's attention. "You cast the spell on Mel and got rid of William, but Mel's in a coma… And… and they think that she might not wake up…"

"…What…?" Grace asked in a quiet voice, all of them looking around as a knock sounded on the door and Dr Riordan walked inside.

"Oh, Grace, you're awake," she said, smiling a little. Walking over to her as the others got out of her way; she started to check out her patient. "Well, you are perfectly okay. I know you'll probably want to stay for a little while, but when visiting hours are over you're free to go home," she then looked to Arthur and Alfred, "One of you are going to have to stay around for a little bit for some legal stuff."

"I'll stay," Arthur said quickly, glancing at Alfred in a way that said 'do not argue with me'. Almost sighing, Alfred nodded and waited for Dr Riordan to be finished with writing on Grace's chart before getting his mobile from his pocket. He stepped away from everyone else and dialled Matthew's number; knowing that his brother would want to know about what had happened. He also made a mental note to call Josh to let Aednat and the other UK siblings know.

Grace took a deep breath and took off her connections to the IV, pushing Edward's hands away when he tried to stop her. Unable to stop her, Edward watched as she walked over to Melinda's bed and looked down at her sister. She teared up as she looked at Melinda, hating that the greatest part of her sister pain had been caused by her.

"Grace…"

Looking round, Grace blinked and saw Lily looking at her with arms open and outstretched to her. She moved over and took the small girl from Arthur, the tears slipping as the little girl hugged her tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Lily," she said, sitting down in the seat beside Marco's as the fatigue started to affect her again.

"Don't be silly," Lily replied, kissing her cheek and wiping her eyes.

Arthur looked up at Alfred as the American moved back over to him, leaning against him as his warm arms wrapped around his waist and held him close.

"Mattie said they're getting the first flight they can," Alfred said. "They'll be round tomorrow, and Aednat said that they'll all be along the day after."

Arthur nodded and turned his attention to Marco, realising just how silent he was sat beside his daughter. He watched as the boy continued to hold Melinda's hand in both of his, his tanned thumb smoothing over her pale bruised skin softly and slowly. He was looking at Melinda's closed eyes, seemingly unaware of his surroundings.

Unable to bring the smile to his face, Arthur internally smiled at the tenderness the boy was showing to his daughter; he knew for a while that he was good for her, but now in this horrifying moment he could really see how much he cared for her.

He then turned his attention to Grace and Edward; the boy crouching beside her chair and smiling up at her softly. His hand was on her arm, the other holding onto her chair to keep his balance. He was smoothing her arm gently, shifting slightly to hug her as she continued to cry softly.

Both of these boys had stood by these girls through times where even some of the strongest men would have fled, they had stayed and fought beside them and were now picking up the pieces that were left behind.

Looking up at Alfred, Arthur managed a slight smile as he saw the same thoughts crossing his mind too. Alfred looked back at him and smiled a little back, kissing his temple before looking to the door as it opened once more.

"I'm sorry," said Dr Riordan. "But visiting hours are over now… Arthur, could you come sign these forms now please"

"That's okay," Arthur said, nodding before kissing Alfred's cheek. "I'll see you at home in a little while."

Watching Arthur walk away with the doctor, Alfred then turned to the others and smiled slightly. Lily looked up at Alfred and held onto him as he picked her up from Grace's lap, a look in her eyes showing him that she really didn't want to leave Melinda alone in this place. Edward remained neutral for Grace's sake, but the girl and Marco both looked like they didn't want to leave Melinda alone either.

"Come on," Alfred said. "We'll come back and see Melinda tomorrow."

Edward helped Grace to stand, the girl leaning against him as the fatigue really started to affect her. She was falling asleep on her feet, forcing herself to stay awake until they at least got to the car. They looked at Marco, the boy holding Melinda's hand a little tighter. Alfred shifter and put his hand on Marco's back; the boy looking up at him sadly. When he received a look saying the Alfred really understood Marco leant forwards and kissed Melinda's cheek before letting her go reluctantly. He stood up and walked out of the room with them after goodbyes were said to Melinda, heading over to his parents who looked at him carefully.

Alfred carried Lily back to the car, leading Edward and Grace to it also as the girl started to fall asleep Edward as they walked. He unlocked it quickly and put Lily in her seat, getting into the driver's side as the other two got into the back with Lily. He started the car and started to drive them in the direction of Ed's home, glancing in the rear view mirror and smiling a little as Grace's head rested on Edward's shoulder; the girl completely asleep once again.

Parking outside Edward's home, Alfred smiled at the boy as he got out of the car after laying Grace against the seat.

"Thanks for the lift, Alfred," he said.

"You're welcome," Alfred replied.

"And… and I hope Melinda wakes up soon," Edward said. Alfred nodded.

"Me too…"

After Edward had gone inside, Alfred drove back to their own house and parked in the driveway. He got Lily out of the car and let her run up to the front door, shifting round and getting Grace out of the car next and carrying her up to the house. Managing to get the door open, he let Lily inside so she could run to her bedroom then shut the door and took Grace to her room.

Awkwardly, he got her changed for bed then settled her under the covers; kissing her forehead and smoothing her hair softly. He then realised, though she was still mostly asleep, that her eyes had opened a little.

"Daddy?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, baby?" he replied, smoothing her hair softly as he had done when she was a child.

"Did I do the right thing…?" Grace asked.

Alfred swallowed slightly but kept the motion going. "Yeah, baby. You did the right thing."

"But Mel's hurt… I didn't want to hurt her…"

"She was hurting more with William there," Alfred said. "You got rid of him."

Nodding a little, Grace's eyes closed again and she fell back to sleep; Alfred kissing her temple again before getting up and sorting Lily out. He put her to bed, kissing her head and making sure her nightlight was on and Ted was in her arms before going to his own room.

Changing slowly, Alfred sat on the bed in his pyjama bottoms, his legs crossed and his elbows resting on them. He put his head in his hands and sighed, listening closely for the next 10 minutes until he heard the front door go.

"I'm home," came Arthur's voice from downstairs. Alfred heard him walking around downstairs, smiling a little at the thought of him looking around for any of them.

"Up here," he called back, listening to Arthur carefully walk up the stairs, along the corridor and into their bedroom. Smiling at Alfred, Arthur walked over to him and changed into his pyjamas too; joining him on the bed and leaning into his embrace.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly as Alfred kissed his cheek.

"Ye- No…" Alfred said.

Arthur turned slightly and held his face softly. "What's wrong?"

"She may not wake up…" Alfred said, looking into Arthur's eyes. He was willing himself not to tear up but he could feel the droplets forming without his permission; cursing himself for his over-emotional state.

"Oh, Alfred," Arthur said, holding his other cheek softly and smoothing his fingers across into his hair. "Love, she'll wake up."

Alfred felt the tears slip and hid his face in Arthur's shoulder, trying his hardest not to completely break down; it wasn't fair on the pregnant Brit. He was going through exactly the same and was staying completely calm; Alfred actually though that Arthur would be going through so much more what with carrying Ben still, dealing with all of these problems and still keeping his usual demeanour.

"Alfred, Melinda is going to wake up," Arthur said, though Alfred could hear a slight change, a slip in his tone that suggested he was trying to convince himself at the same time as Alfred. "She is a strong willed and minded girl. She is much more capable than either of us has really ever given her credit for. She's as stubborn as the pair of us and has as much determination as you. We've both taught her to never give up and to fight until the very end, and that is exactly what she will do."

"But she can't fight on her own, Arthur," Alfred said, his voice breaking as his tears grew stronger. "She's alone in that hospital…"

"Dr Riordan is taking care of her," Arthur said, running his fingers through Alfred's hair. "She is with her right now and she will have us, Grace, Marco, Lily, Matthew, Gilbert, Adam, Tom and Jamie tomorrow! She is not going to be alone. Aednat, Josh, Caleb, Bridget, Scott, Bryn and Ryan will definitely make sure of that."

Alfred nodded and wiped his eyes, kissing Arthur's cheek when he saw the soft smile on his face. "What do you think, Ben?" he asked, putting his hand on Arthur's bump.

Arthur chuckled softly and kissed Alfred on the lips. "Ben thinks she'll wake up too."

Alfred nodded and smiled a little, then had a thoughtful expression on his face. "So… he's finally gone… It's nearly over…"

"And he's gone for good this time," Arthur said, smoothing Alfred's cheeks again.

"It seems weird," Alfred said. "After nearly 300 years…"

"What are we going to do now?" Arthur smiled.

"Well, I'm going to do this," Alfred grinned, leaning down quickly to blow a raspberry on Arthur's bump. The Brit laughed and thumped his shoulders, wriggling to get away from the sensation. "Not long now, Ben…" Alfred said, kissing the bump as he felt his son wriggling inside. "In a few weeks you'll be here and you can hug Melinda and everyone and everything will be okay."

Arthur smiled softly and pulled Alfred up to kiss him softly, smiling still as he pulled back. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too," Alfred replied. They shifted under the covers and snuggled together, staying close to try and focus on the happiness they could faintly feel and the prospect of a bright future with all their children, and not what they would soon be going to see once more; their broken daughter.

_**Notes:**_

**HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE NEW INSTALMENT IN THE **_**THE HEART NEVER LIES **_**SERIES!**

**I really hope that you guys will enjoy this series as much as the others! I promised it within a few days and here it is!**

**And yes, the PruCan clan will be in the next chapter. Possibly the UK clan too if the scene's too short but either way, I hope that you will stick along with me like you have.**

**I love every one of you that has supported my stories and I will try not to disappoint you!**


	2. Fix A Heart

_**The Aftermath is Secondary**_

_**Chapter Two**_

_**Fix a Heart**_

When the next morning came and daybreak shone through the slight crack in the curtains, Alfred glanced over at them. He had woken up in the middle of the night after having a bad dream and had found himself unable to get back to sleep. Rubbing his hands over his face, he put his glasses on again and looked down at Arthur who was still sleeping soundly; his face calm and most likely hiding his pain much better than Alfred was able to.

Leaning over to his bedside table, Alfred picked up his mobile phone and tapped the screen to find that he had one new message. He opened it and took a shaky breath when he read Matthew's message of condolence and that they were now in the country. Looking at the time on the message, Alfred carefully got out of bed so as not to disturb Arthur and got himself washed and dressed so that he could welcome his brother's family as they would be showing up anytime soon.

Walking through the quiet house, Alfred didn't like the sounds of silence that followed him; even his footsteps didn't make a noise and if it wasn't for the pounding he could hear from his heart he would have thought that he had gone death. As he got into the hallway, Alfred heard the sound of a distinctive car pulling up outside so opened the front door and shivered at the freshness of the morning air.

Gilbert and Matthew got out of either side of the car, their sons Adam and Tom helping their youngest Jamie to get out of the car. Gilbert glanced at Matthew once they had both caught a look at Alfred's tired expression, the dark circles under his eyes and sadness in his eyes. Matthew didn't like the look so went over to his brother quickly and pulled him into a hug which he was only slightly surprised that Alfred accepted instantly; feeling his brother's head drop onto his shoulder.

"Alfred…" Matthew said softly, glancing back at his family and nodding for them to get inside. When Alfred pulled back and shut the door after them, Adam turned to his uncle with a slightly nervous expression.

"Is it really that bad…?" he asked.

"Must be…" Tom said as Alfred seemed unable to talk for a moment.

"How are you…?" Matthew asked, knowing that it was a stupid question but needed to ask it.

"As well as we can be…" Alfred said, rubbing his temple.

"So… What happened?" asked Gilbert, picking Jamie up when the toddler hurried over to him.

"William possessed Melinda..." Alfred explained. "After they got rid of Grace's dark side, she cast a spell that killed William, but has put Mel on life support..."

"Yes…" said Arthur, everyone looking round as he walked into the room with Lily and held Alfred's hand. "They're not sure if she'll… if she'll wake or not…"

"Oh, God…" Gilbert said. "I'm so sorry…"

"Mel's on life support?" Adam said, looking at his twin trying to comprehend what they had just been told; Tom looked just as shocked as he did.

"She's tough though," Gilbert said, nodding his head a slightly but firmly.

"She'll wake up soon," Matthew said, smiling kindly at his brother and Arthur.

"I hope so," Alfred said, smiling back gratefully at Matthew and Gilbert.

There was silence for a moment, everyone letting the news settle for a moment. But then Adam thought of something.

"How's Marco taking it?" he asked.

Arthur smiled a little before answering. "He didn't want to let her go last night…" he said. "It wouldn't surprise me if we found out he'd already gone to the hospital to see her."

"That sounds about right," Tom smiled.

"And how's Grace?" Gilbert asked. "Where is she?"

"Asleep…" Arthur said. "She's got severe fatigue from yesterday's events…"

Nodding, the Prussian-Canadian family smiled at them in understanding, all looking at Lily when she made a little noise to get Arthur's attention.

"Are we going to see Mel?" she asked, looking at Arthur and shifting her feet a little.

"We will be in a minute," Arthur replied, smiling at her.

"But what about Grace?" asked Tom.

"I think she needs her rest at the moment," Alfred said, smiling at Tom when he noticed his concerned expression. "So, we'll leave her a note and she can catch us up if she wakes up in time."

Taking that as his cue, Arthur went to the kitchen to write the note and leave it in a place that Grace would easily be able to find it when she woke up; and learning from years of watching her grow up, the first place Grace always went in the morning was the kettle to make herself some tea.

When Arthur came back, the group made their way out of the house and over to their cars, all getting inside and heading towards the hospital. Arthur looked out of the passenger's window, resting his head against the glass as he let Alfred drive them to the hospital; he was at the stage in his pregnancy where it was difficult for him to drive, so thought it was safer for everyone if Alfred took over for once. He looked in the side mirror and watched as Matthew's car followed after them, watching carefully as he caught glimpses of Gilbert's and his expressions when they slipped in and out of view.

Alfred made sure that there were parking spaces next to each other to make sure that he and Matthew were able to park next to each other and then turned the engine off and got out of the car. He helped Lily out quickly before helping Arthur out, then waited for his brother's family to get sorted before leading them into the hospital, letting the staff know where they were going and heading straight for Melinda's room.

Opening the door quietly, they walked inside spotting Marco sat beside Melinda's bed holding her one of her hands in both of his. He looked round at them and smiled sadly.

"Morning…" he said as Matthew and Gilbert muttered 'oh God'.

"You look as tired as we feel," Arthur said, walking over to opposite him.

Sitting on the other side of the bed next to Marco and setting Lily down on it, Alfred motioned to the others to take seats too and looked at Marco. "How long have you been here?"

"An hour… I think…" the boy replied, letting go of Melinda's hand with one hand and scratching his fingers through his curly brown hair. "I couldn't sleep…"

"She's the same…" Lily said, looking at her sister's broken body. "She's exactly the same as we left her last night…"

"Has there been any change?" Alfred asked, watching as Marco shook his head sadly.

"Not since I've been here," he replied.

Taking hold of his daughter's other hand, Arthur looked at Marco carefully and tilted his head. "Have you had anything to eat, Marco?"

"I haven't been hungry…"

"Why don't you go try and have something to eat from the café…" Arthur suggested. "Or at least a drink that could give you an energy boost…"

"She'd want you to keep your strength up for when she wakes up," Alfred added.

Marco nodded but they could tell that he was reluctant to leave her side. Arthur chuckled a little and smiled softly at him.

"Go on," he said. "We'll all be here to take care of her."

Everyone watched as he nodded again and got out of his seat, smiling as he reluctantly left the room to go get himself something to eat or drink. They then turned their attentions back to the unconscious girl in the bed before them.

"Do you think she can hear us?" asked Gilbert out of the blue, tilting his head as he took in the bruises over Melinda's face and down her arms.

"I don't know," Arthur said, smoothing his thumb over the girl's hand. "But I hope that she knows we're all waiting for her to wake up…"

"I'm sure she does," Matthew said, watching as his brother smoothed Melinda's hair.

"Yeah…" said Alfred. "Come on, Mel… You're normally up before now."

"Yeah!" giggled Lily. "Mel's always the first one up!"

"What time does she normally get up?" Gilbert asked, looking at them curiously.

"5 in the morning," Alfred chuckled, grinning as Adam and Tom blinked in surprise.

"No way!" they both exclaimed, glancing at Marco as he re-entered the room with a can of Coke in his hands.

"It's normal though," Arthur said, smiling fondly. "She's always done so… I can remember when I was pregnant with them, 5am on the dot there would be a slight movement in my stomach. Then when they were born, the habit stuck for a while that I'd wake up at 5 but I'd always go to the toilet and back to bed; I always checked on the girls and sure enough she would be sat up in her cot playing with a toy. It's not stopped since."

"Well, if she usually wakes up at that time then it's no wonder she's tired," Matthew chuckled.

"She'll kill you if she finds out you're not eating, Marco," Adam said, grinning at the Italian-Spaniard.

"You're just hoping that she can hear you, aren't you?" Gilbert said, smirking as Matthew flicked their eldest son's ear.

"Don't try and get him into trouble," the Canadian scolded, flicking Tom too as he laughed at his brother.

"She's welcome to kill me when she wakes up," Marco smiled, sipping his Coke. He chuckled as Jamie giggled at his older brothers, Adam grabbing him and tickling him in retaliation.

"Don't you giggle at me!" he said, the little boy squealing and laughing as he wriggled to get away. They looked around as the door opened, smiling as Grace walked into the room sleepily and sat down.

"Is there any change?" she asked, yawning a little.

"Not yet," Alfred replied, kissing her head.

"Adam's been trying to get Marco in trouble though," Gilbert chuckled.

"That's just typical," Grace said, chuckling too.

Jumping slightly, they all looked round as Arthur gasped.

"Mel!" he said, looking down at his hand.

"Arthur, what's going on?" Alfred asked, worried.

"She's holding my hand…" Arthur said, his voice slightly distant but happy. "She just took hold of my hand…"

"She… Well that's good right?"

"I think so," Arthur replied, smiling and kissing his daughter's hand.

Lily grinned and bounced slightly. "That might mean she heard us!"

"This is great!" Tom grinned. However, his expression faded when he looked at Grace solemn expression. "Grace?"

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked.

"I'm wondering why Atlantis hasn't called her back…" she said, looking at her sister's bruised face.

"Maybe she's choosing to stay?" Alfred suggested, smiling at his second oldest. "It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong."

"How are you feeling now though, Grace?" Arthur asked, smiling at her too.

"Oh…" she blinked and shrugged. "Tired still… but I couldn't sleep any longer…"

"Wow," Alfred chuckled. "You normally fight to stay in bed!"

"It was nice not having the usual nightmares but…" she trailed off, glancing at Melinda before looking at her lap.

"So she's really gone then?" Tom asked.

"Yeah," Grace replied. "Kali's gone."

The younger two twins looked round at Adam as they heard him sniggering slightly, looking in the direction he was and smiling as they saw Marco holding Melinda's hand and keeping it by his lips.

"It's amazing how we were always right about that," he said, Marco looking round at him and rolling his eyes.

"I'm right here you know…" he said. "And Mel can hear you…"

"We know," Adam smiled. "Still love being right."

"It's not that often," Gilbert smirked, making the others snigger and smirk too.

"Oh shut up," Adam scowled. "And you wonder why I keep Demi away from you people…"

Grace blinked and grinned at him coyly. "Demi?" she asked. "Demi Karpusi-Honda? You are dating her?!"

Adam blushed and looked away from her. "You knew I liked her! So I asked her at a world meeting…" He looked round again and saw Tom smirking. "I don't know why you're laughing. Petras."

The grin on Grace's face grew at the further gossip from her cousins. "Petras Laurinaitis-Łukasiewicz? You actually asked him out!"

"Yeah I did," Tom said, smiling at Grace before grinning at Adam. "The difference between you and I, I'm don't get flustered about it."

The family stayed all the way up to the end of the visiting hours, talking and laughing and trying to encourage Melinda to wake up the whole time. Occasionally there would be the little flicker of life from her in the form of her holding the hand of anyone who attempted it, but other than that she was completely unchanged.

The Prussian-Canadian family left the hospital first so that they could get settled into their hotel suites nearby and get Jamie to bed, Alfred, Arthur and Grace taking a sleeping Lily out into the hallway to give Marco some time alone to say goodbye to Melinda before they would give him a lift home.

Marco looked down at Melinda and took a deep breath as he looked at her. "I wish I didn't have to go…" he said, using his free hand to hold her face gently. "I'll be back again tomorrow though… I'll stay here for as long as I can," he glanced at the mask, "if you didn't need that mask I'd remove it and kiss you… but I guess this will have to do for now…" Leaning down he gently pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you so much, Melinda. Forever."

Managing to keep his tears back, he let her go.

_**Notes:**_

**Ah, long time no update! I was really fighting with this one to come up with what would happen.**

**Well, I know what's happening but there are two visiting scenes and I wasn't sure to put them in one chapter or two. But I thought that with 11 characters in this scene and 13 in the next that it would end up being too long… OTL…**

**Anyways, I hope you are enjoying so far and stick with me and all the rest :) LOVE YOU GUYS!**


	3. Six Degrees of Separation

_**The Aftermath is Secondary**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Six Degrees of Separation**_

Alfred felt as though he was starting to enter a very depressing rut. Once more he found himself unable to sleep for very long, waking up at 4am to a dimly lit sky peeking through the curtains. He looked at the thin veil that he could see then down at Arthur as the pregnant Brit slept soundly; Alfred knew that it was probably Ben keeping him calm, the fear of losing him as well as Melinda and their other son helping to control Arthur's emotions.

Not wanting to wake Arthur up, he quietly got out bed and got himself showered and dressed before leaving the room. He went along the hallway to Grace's bedroom, looking inside and smiling a little as he watched the younger twin sleeping more soundly than she had since she was 7 years old. Closing her door softly, he went to the opposite side of the corridor and looked in on Lily; the little girl snuggled up with Ted the Bear. Closing her door too, Alfred went to Melinda's room. Leaning on the doorframe, he looked at her empty bed and cluttered-but-tidy bedroom – all of it untouched since Melinda had left it those few days ago before her exam. He looked at the shelves – some holding photo albums containing images Melinda had collected since she got her first camera when she was 9 years old, others holding all the books she had read and that were still to be read, another holding the many notebooks filled with stories Melinda had created herself.

Looking around when he felt a hand on his bicep, Alfred smiling a little as Arthur looked up at him with a gentle expression. He put his arm around the smaller man, holding him close as they both looked at Melinda's bedroom.

"Morning," Alfred said, feelings Arthur's head lean down and rest on his chest.

"Good morning," Arthur replied, looking at the bedroom and feeling a little haunted. He knew that Melinda wasn't dead, but from how much life she had put into the room it was as if some was still lingering inside. And that made him feel worse.

"Mummy? Daddy?"

Turning around, the pair smiled softly at Lily as she looked at them from her doorway. Arthur went over to her and carefully picked the little girl up, Lily smiling at them and giggling as Grace groggily left her bedroom.

"What's with the mother's meeting out here?" she said, pulling her jacket a little closer around her.

"Good morning to you too," Alfred chuckled, pulling Melinda's door shut to respect the rest of her privacy.

"Are we going to see Melinda now?" Lily asked, looking between her parents and Grace. They looked at her softly, knowing just how badly the toddler wanted to see her eldest sister; Grace wanted to see her too, her hands shaking a little still from nerves.

"We had to wait until everyone's here again," Arthur said, kissing his youngest daughter's cheek. "Aunty Aednat, Uncle Josh, Uncle Scott, Uncle Bryn, Uncle Ryan, Caleb and Bridget are coming to see Melinda today too… and they need to be told what happened…"

"Okay…" Lily said, smiling a little; she was torn between being sad for not seeing her sister right away and being happy at seeing her silly aunt and uncles again. As they all went downstairs – Grace heading straight for the kitchen to get a cup of tea – the doorbell rang, Alfred walking to it and opening it to see Bryn stood outside with a slight smile on his face.

"Hey, Bryn," Alfred said, stepping aside and letting the Welshman inside.

"Morning, Al, Arthur," Bryn said, taking his jacket off for the time being. He grinned at Lily when she giggled 'hiya, Uncle Bwyn'. "Hey, Precious."

"Did you take the train by chance?" Arthur chuckled, leading his older brother through to the living room.

Bryn nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I had to finish up some business I couldn't get out of first… but I got the first train down from Cardiff that I could."

Arthur nodded, sitting down and letting Lily climb up onto Bryn's lap. He watched Alfred go to the door again, smiling a little as the rest of his family showed up.

"Hey," said Scott, walking into the house just after Ryan who had just managed to get himself away from Aednat's car. "How's everyone holding up?"

"We could be better…" Alfred said, shutting the door after Aednat and Josh had got the kids inside.

"So, what exactly happened?" Aednat asked, pushing a strand of her deep red hair behind her ear. The siblings listened as Alfred and Arthur explained what had happened, Grace filling in the blanks as she had entered the room after finishing her tea; all shocked and saddened.

"But she held my hand yesterday," Arthur said, rubbing his bump. "So there is hope…"

"I'm so sorry, Arthur…" Scott said. Arthur looked at him gratefully; though they fought the most out of his siblings because of their oldest-vs-youngest rivalry, he knew that Scott did care for him and especially the girls.

"Can we see her?" asked Bridget, piping up and drawing the attentions of the forlorn adults.

"Of course, Sweetheart," Arthur replied, smiling softly. "We were waiting for you."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Having got into their cars and making their way to the hospital, the family reunited outside the building before walking inside together. They let the receptionist know that they were there to visit Melinda before letting Alfred lead them through the quiet corridors down to Melinda's room.

Arthur looked around the room when they went inside, taking a seat and looking at a big bouquet of flowers on the unit beside Melinda's bed but no sign of Marco. He looked at his family as they numbly took seats too, Caleb, Bridget and Lily sitting on the end of Melinda's bed; Lily making sure that her younger cousins were okay as they looked at Melinda sadly.

Looking round, they smiled as the door opened and Marco came into the room holding a can of energy drink and wearing a very surprised expression.

"Did you get her the flowers?" Grace asked, smiling at her sister's boyfriend. Blushing brightly, Marco nodded and rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down.

"That's so sweet," Alfred smiled.

"Those flowers are beautiful," Aednat smiled.

"Thanks," Marco replied, grinning sheepishly.

"They're Melinda's favourites," Grace smiled. "Good memory."

"How long have you been here?" Ryan asked, looking at Marco as he looked at his watch.

"About two hours…" he replied, looking at them a little tiredly. He looked up at Scott as the Scotsman clapped on the back.

"I knew it was the right decision not to murder you for touching my niece," grinned Scott, Marco looking at him with an expression that showed that he wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"He's joking, Marco," Arthur said, glaring over Melinda's bed at Scott. "Don't try and scare him, Scott."

"Ye can't intimidate me lookin' like that, Arthur," Scott smirked, motioning to his heavily pregnant brother's bump.

"He may not be able to kick your arse at the moment but I sure as hell can," Aednat smirked.

"She always could kick your arse," Bryn said, shifting back in his seat a little to avoid the conflict; only to punch Ryan's arm when the younger man sniggered at his action.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Aednat," Arthur grinned. "But being pregnant doesn't hinder me that much."

"Guys look."

Blinking slightly, the siblings looked round at Alfred noticing a grin on his face as he looked down at Melinda. They turned their attentions to the girl, noticing that her bruised face now bore a soft smile.

"She's smiling!" Lily exclaimed happily, grinning brightly at her parents.

"Ha! She smiled when I offered to kick your arse!" Aednat laughed.

"Are we amusing you, Melinda?" Arthur asked, chuckling softly and holding his daughter's hand.

"Who wouldn't be amused by all you idiots," Ryan grinned, laughing at them.

"Says the one that always drops himself in it and makes a fool of himself," Scott said, smirking faintly.

"Does this mean she'll wake up soon?" asked Caleb, looking between them.

"Maybe," Josh said, ruffling his sons dark hair.

"You realise that it's our teasing of you that's made her smile right?" Aednat teased.

"I don't care as long as Melinda feels better," Scott replied.

"Why, Tinman, you do have a heart," Aednat grinned, laughing as he flipped her off. As the teasing continued, Marco took hold of Melinda's hand and slipped into his own world with her; smoothing his thumb over her bruised skin and pressing light kisses to her knuckles occasionally. However, she suddenly gripped his hand tight.

"Ah…" Marco said, gasping slightly. Arthur stopped laughing abruptly at the sound, looking at Marco then noticing the heart rate on the monitor increasing. He took her other hand and tried to keep her calm with Marco as Bryn ran off to get Dr Riordan, looking at them as the doctor came into the room and checked Melinda over. They watched as she administered some painkillers and wrote on her chart, receiving reassurances that she would be okay before leaving the room.

"You gave us a shock, Mel…" Bryn said, his hands shaking slight as he took his seat again.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Melinda…" Arthur said, smoothing his unconscious daughter's hand softly. "You'll wake up in your own time."

Aednat looked down at Bridget as the little girl climbed into her lap, holding her close and kissing her head. "What's the matter, honey?"

"I just thought Mel was better…" said the little girl, leaning on her mother sadly.

"She is getting better, but it's not always very easy," Josh said, smiling softly at his daughter.

"She'll wake up though, and when she does we'll all give her lots of hugs and kisses and help her get better okay?" Aednat smiled, kissing the girl's head once more.

"Okay, Mummy."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

"You can have a lift home again, Marco."

Marco nodded gratefully to Alfred, smiling slightly as he watched them get ready to leave. The group had dwindled down to just the main family once more as the others had to settle the children or themselves into hotels nearby.

"I'll see if I can bring you a book or something," Grace said, smoothing Melinda's hair softly as she said goodbye. "I'll read it to you."

"Treasure Island?" smiled Alfred.

"What other book would I bring?" Grace chuckled. She walked with her parents out of the room, smiling at Marco softly and leaving him to have some privacy with Melinda.

Marco smiled back a little, waiting until the door shut before he let out a quiet breath and looked at Melinda.

"You really scared me earlier…" he said. "I thought that I was losing you again…," he paused and smoothed her hair, "There's never a dull moment with you, is there? But I wouldn't change it for anything." Using his free hand, he cupped her cheek softly. "Do you know what I miss the most about you at the moment…? It's not your hugs or your voice… or anything like that… The thing that I miss the most about you is seeing your eyes… That little sparkle you always have that makes me fall in love with you just a little more every time I see it…" Carefully, he leant forwards and kissed her closed eyelids gently. "That's all I want for now… I love you, Melinda Kirkland-Jones. More than anything else in the world and nothing will stop me from visiting you every single day until I get to see your eyes again. I promise."

He shifted again and hugged her carefully but tightly, kissing her cheek as he pulled away and went to leave the room. He opened the door quietly and went to step out to the family as they looked at him, but blinked as he heard something.

"M… Marco…"

Turning quickly, he hurried back to Melinda's bedside. "Melinda?" he said, holding her face. But the girl was still out cold. "Mel…?"

"What's going on?" Alfred asked, looking in on the pair.

"She… She said my name…"

"She talked?" Alfred said, blinking in surprise. Marco nodded. "It's going to be okay, Marco. Alright? We've just gotta keep strong for her. She's trying to come back."

"I know…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

**2 Weeks Later…**

Shifting slightly as the covers tangled around him, Arthur slowly opened his eyes and yawned softly. "Hmmm… Alfred…" he said, turning over slightly only to find that once again he was lying in an empty bed. He didn't know why it was still getting to him, having learnt by this point that Alfred was finding it very difficult to sleep; he knew that Alfred simply didn't want to wake him up for Ben's sake as well as his.

However, he heard talking downstairs.

Getting out of bed, he carefully got himself dressed before heading downstairs with a solemn looking Grace following behind him after she left her room. They saw Alfred stood in the hallway talking on the phone, his mobile in his other hand.

"I understand…" he said, not realising that he had company now. "Yes… Yes, I understand… We'll be there as soon as we can… Thanks, Doc…"

Hanging up the phone, he turned around and spotted Arthur and Grace; taking in their worried expressions.

"Alfred… What's going on?"

Biting his lip for a moment, Alfred rubbed his face and looked up at them sadly. "That was Doctor Riordan on the phone… Mel's condition deteriorated over night… She's totally dependent on the life support machine now… They've done everything they could… but it's the only thing keeping alive now…"

_**Notes:**_

**Oh, am I evil for making you wait and then making such a horrible cliffhanger?**

**Yes?**

**Well, I'm slightly sorry :D For the wait that is.**

**Unfortunately, as most of you will be aware, the education parade has started once more and that means that last week I started back at college again. So, I've been working on some things but I did just need to get back into the swing of things again. Updates should be normal again soon though :)**

**I was working on All of Time and Space, but the episode I was basing it on confused me as soon as the other characters showed up… So, that'll be sorted as soon as I figure out those characters :]**

**I am wanting to get other stories finished quickly – like In The Shadows – because I have another story in the wings waiting to come to life and (especially those who like nyotalia tales) it should be a pretty good story :]**

**But for now, I will love you forever for reviewing, faving, all that jazz :) See ya next time xD**

**Also, props to anyone who knows where the inspiration for the chapter title came from :)**


	4. Hanging by a Thread

_**The Aftermath is Secondary**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Hanging by a Thread**_

Silence filled the air after Alfred had spoken, a sickeningly awful silence that started to consume them from the inside out. Grace shook her head sharply and quickly, her breath starting to become jagged as tears welled up in her eyes.

"No," she said, choosing to not believe Alfred. "No, she can't be…"

"We have to get there as soon as possible…" Alfred said, looking up at them as they stood on the stairs. He watched as Lily poked her head around Arthur's legs, the Brit not noticing for a moment as he put his arm around Grace to comfort her. "But this time, I don't think Lily should come with us…"

Now realising that his youngest daughter was nearby, Arthur looked down and picked the little girl up as she looked at them in confusion.

"Why can't I go see Melinda?" she asked.

"It's better if you don't see her this time," Arthur said softly, smoothing the girl's hair.

"But I want to see Mel!" Lily said, tearing up.

"I'm sorry, honey, but not this time…" Arthur said, glancing over at Alfred and noticing that he was on the phone again.

"…B-but w-why?"

"I'm so sorry, Lily," said Arthur, kissing the girl on her head. "Melinda's gotten a little sicker…"

"What…?" asked Lily, her eyes widening as she looked up at Arthur. "No… But she was getting better… She… She…"

Hugging her as she started to get herself worked up, Arthur kissed Lily's head and swayed gently with her. "I know, Baby… I know… Grace, maybe you should call Marco and let him know."

"He's probably already there…" Grace said.

"Doctor Riordan would have said so and I would hope that he'd have enough sense to call us and tell us if he were there," Arthur replied. Nodding slightly, Grace went to get her phone leaving Arthur to care for Lily and watch Alfred.

"Okay, so Aednat and the others are on their way here," Alfred said, looking up at Arthur again. "So are Matt, Gil and the kids. They were on their ways anyway apparently so they shouldn't be too long."

A few minutes passed before everyone showed up, Alfred letting them in whilst Arthur led them into the living room. Once they were all settled and Lily was sat down with Matthew, Alfred explained to them exactly what was going on; the American watching as each of their expressions changed to one of shock and devastation.

"We'll be back soon…" he said, playing with his keys before walking out with Arthur and Grace once the girl had come downstairs. He got into the car with them, driving to Marco's home to see the boy stood by his front door with a broken expression.

The drive to the hospital was unsettled and silent. Everything around them seemed to slow down the closer they got to the hospital – the people walking through the streets minding their own businesses, the children in gardens playing in the summer sun. The sunshine beating down on them was off-putting, completely out of place in this dark situation. Marco looked up at it and cursed it silently, leaning his head on the glass of the car window and closing his eyes. Grace couldn't sit still as she looked out of the other window – she refused to believe that Melinda was about to die, she refused to believe that she had killed her sister. She could see her parents in the front seats – Arthur smoothing his bump whilst Alfred kept his eyes on the road – and she could tell that they were hiding just how devastated they were for hers and Marco's sakes.

Everyone got out of the car as soon as they could once Alfred had parked outside the hospital, Marco all but running into the building. The receptionist seemed to know that they would be coming, looking up from her computer as the automatic doors opened to allow them inside. She gave them a sorry look and allowed them to walk through to the wards.

Marco was the first one to the door and he showed no hesitation in opening it. "Mel…" he said quietly, running over to her bed. He looked round at the others as they slowly made their way over, all of them listening to the ever slowing heartbeat on the monitor.

"I'm so very sorry…"

Arthur looked round and smiled sadly at Dr Riordan as the woman stood in the doorway with an equally gloomy expression. "I know you've done your best, Doctor…" he said in a quiet tone.

Dr Riordan nodded and looked at the ground as she took a deep breath. Looking back up at Alfred and Arthur she tilted her head sympathetically. "Her stats are slowly dropping… I really hate to say it, but she isn't going to pull through… The life support machine is the only thing keeping her alive at the moment…"

"Thank you for all your hard work, Doctor…" Arthur said, closing his eyes and taking a shaky breath to try and keep himself calm.

"I'll leave you to have some privacy… but… you need to make a decision as to whether you'll keep the life support machine turned on…"

"We understand, Doctor," Alfred said, moving over to Arthur and put his arms around him. He watched as Dr Riordan nodded solemnly before walking out of the room and shutting the door, and then turned his attention back to Arthur. The Brit was clinging to him, his head resting on his chest so that he could cry against it. Unable to hold back his own tears, Alfred leant his head down on Arthur's and cried too; looking at Marco as the boy too cried as he hugged Melinda.

Grace sat down in a chair next to the bed, putting her head in her hands. Her feet tapped against the floor as her legs shook, her fingers drumming against her hair line as she tried to search through her memories for anything that could save her sister. She thought back on all the times Melinda had been hurt or unconscious, every little thing that Grace could see in her head that she was still capable of doing but with each thing she saw she just couldn't find the way that would help her sister to recover.

"No! No, Mel, don't leave!" she heard Marco cry as the beeping slowed drastically. "Please!"

Scratching her head a little, she shut her eyes tighter and felt tears well up behind her eyelids. Her frame shook more as she delved deeper and more desperately into her memories, flicking through scenes as if they were morbid home videos. She got shocks when she came across scenes in which Melinda was smiling, laughing, everything that she was slowly about to be incapable of doing anymore; and as much as Grace wanted to linger on these scenes for her own sake, she knew that she had to look at the darker stuff to get the answer.

That's when she figured it out. She came to a halt as she was met by a dark wall, blinking slightly as light started to shine through. She saw Melinda's face over her, young and relieved and bruised and scarred.

"…I'm such a fucking idiot…"

"Language Grace…" Arthur said.

"Sorry," replied the girl as she got out of her seat.

"What are you doing?" asked Alfred, watching as his second oldest daughter put her hand on Marco's arm and tried to get him to move away from Melinda.

"What I should have done 2 weeks ago…" she replied, tugging at Marco again. "Marco, you're going to have to trust me and move!" Looking up at her tearfully, Marco reluctantly stepped away from Melinda; watching as Grace moved most of the wires out of the way (without disconnecting them) and put one hand on her head and the other on her heart. She closed her eyes and felt their connection click, her link with Melinda connecting their magic for a moment as Melinda had done when they were seven years old. _Come on Mel…_

Suddenly, Melinda gasped and started to cough heavily because of the mask on her face and the tubes on her nose. She was still unconscious, but Arthur, Alfred and Marco smiled relievedly as Grace pulled away all of the things now causing her sister pain – the heartbeat on the monitor now returning to what it should be. Putting her hand on Melinda's forehead, Grace used the connection to wake her up, grinning as her older sister's eyes opened slowly and weakly.

"Welcome back," Grace grinned, laughing relievedly.

"Huh?" Melinda said, her voice breaking from lack of use as she looked around the room in confusion. She sat up a little as she got more strength back, squeaking a little as Marco hugged her tightly and hid his face in her chest.

"You've been in a coma for a fortnight…" Grace said, leaning over and kissing her sister's head before getting out of the way.

"2 weeks?" Melinda said, looking up at Grace as she smoothed Marco's hair.

"Sorry… it didn't occur to me to wake you up the way you did to me when we were seven," Grace replied, smiling apologetically.

Melinda chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry," she smiled, kissing Marco's head. "My eyes are up here, you know."

"I know…" Marco replied, not lifting his head as he didn't want to show her he had been crying. Melinda knew though.

"My shoulder's damp, so I know you cried…" she said, kissing his head. Sniffing slightly, Marco lifted his head and looked up at her – tearing up as he looked into her eyes for the first time in far too long, taking in the vibrant green of her irises. "Hello," she smiled, chuckling softly as he hid against her again and cried in a mixture of relief and joy. When he calmed down somewhat, he looked up again and gently cupped her cheek and kissed her softly.

Alfred wiped his eyes and smiled softly, kissing Grace's head when the girl stood near them. She smiled up at him and hugged him, Alfred hugging her back closely and kissing her head again.

"You did fantastic," he whispered to her, smiling when Grace looked up at him and grinned. She moved aside to take the seat beside the bed again leaving Alfred to put his arm around a crying Arthur; smoothing his hair softly as the Brit looked up at him and smiled more happily than he had done in 2 weeks. They looked around when a knocking sounded on the door, smiling when they realised that it would be Dr Riordan.

"Come in," Arthur smiled, watching the door open and the happy look spread across Dr Riordan's face.

"I was going to ask what your decision was but I see I have a different job to do instead," she smiled.

"Sorry," Grace grinned, looking up at the doctor as she chuckled.

"Do you need me again?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, I do," Dr Riordan smiled. "Follow me."

Moving to stand beside Grace's chair as Arthur left with Dr Riordan; Alfred watched as Marco pulled away from Melinda and grinned brightly at her.

"I had a dream about you," Melinda smiled.

"Really?" asked Marco, tilting his head curiously.

"Yeah," Melinda said. "We were sat in that oasis area you took me before we'd got together and you were talking to me."

"What was I saying?" Marco grinned.

"Stuff about my eyes," Melinda smiled. "I was sat in that area the whole time… Everyone was there at points… You were always the first and last though."

"That's because I was always the first to get here and the last to leave your side," Marco said, smiling at her softly.

Melinda kissed him softly and smiled. "You brought me flowers in my dream too." She blinked slightly as Marco pointed to the side, her eyes widening slightly as she looked at the yellow roses in the vase still. "Those where the flowers in my dream…"

"You know me too well," Marco said.

"They're my favourites," Melinda said. "If anyone knows someone too well, it's you for me." Grinning as Marco chuckled; she looked up at her parents as Arthur re-joined them and smiled. "Can I go home now?"

"Doctor Riordan said that you can go home as soon as you feel up to it," Arthur smiled. Melinda nodded and sat up more with Marco's help and managed to get out of bed and stay standing, much to her parents delight.

"What a surprise everyone'll get when we go home," Alfred grinned.

"Yeah, from the tears and stuff and the fact Lily's not here, I gather I was very close to dying just now…" Melinda said, looking at them all.

"You were dependant on all of this," Grace said, getting up and motioning to the life support equipment around them.

"But now you're okay!" Marco grinned.

Melinda nodded then looked at Grace. "You know, that spell pinched a bit," she said jokingly.

"Sorry," Grace said, joking too. "I'll try harder to kill you next time so it doesn't hurt."

"Thank you," Melinda said, smiling at her genuinely. Grace went over to her and hugged her tightly, putting her head on her shoulder as she closed her eyes. "I mean it, thank you."

"I know," Grace replied, holding her tighter as Melinda smoothed her hair.

"Thank you for reading to me as well. I know you hate Treasure Island."

Grace smiled at her as she pulled back. "I'm sure you'd read me one of my encyclopaedias if it was reversed."

"Yeah," Melinda chuckled. She looked at her parents and smiled again. "Don't I get hugs from you?"

Nodding quickly, Arthur hurried over to her and held her close. Melinda closed her eyes and returned her mother's embrace, nuzzling him as Arthur kissed her head and swayed gently with her. "I love you so much, Sweetheart," he said softly.

"I love you too, Mum."

Smoothing her hair for a moment longer, he pulled back and stepped aside so that Alfred could hug her. Melinda smiled up at her father and closed her eyes again as Alfred's warm arms wrapped around her, resting her head on his chest.

"Don't scare me like that again, okay?" Alfred said softly, kissing her head.

"I'll try not to," Melinda smiled, looking up at him.

Alfred lent down and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much, Baby."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Smiling softly, Alfred let her go and watched as she turned around to look at Marco.

"By the way, if I find out that you haven't been eating this week, Adam will get his wish when I'm completely better," she said. Marco blinked and held his hands up in defence.

"I have, I promise!"

"You better have," Melinda smiled.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Once Melinda had gotten changed from the hospital gown, the family had made their way back to the car after signing her out at the reception and helped her get comfortable in the car. She sat in the middle, knowing that both Marco and her sister wanted to be near her. Smiling, she leant her head on Marco's shoulder, relaxing as the fatigue of the whole event was keeping her drained. However, she jumped as Marco's phone went off in his pocket; shifting so that the boy could get to it and look at the text.

"That's a little mean," she said, watching as Marco sent back to his parents **we're on our way back** – not letting them know whether she was alive or dead.

"It'll be more of a surprise this way," Marco replied with a chuckle, kissing her temple. When they parked in the driveway, Arthur and Alfred made their way to the front door first, Grace mainly hiding Marco as the boy hid Melinda. They went inside, those waiting looking at them – thinking the worst had happened when they saw Alfred neutral expression.

"Where's Mel?" Caleb asked, getting down from Aednat's lap with his sister.

"Well…" Alfred started to say, but then moved aside and revealed Melinda.

"Hello," the girl smiled, chuckling at their sudden bright expressions of relief.

"MEL!" shouted the kids, all of the running over to her; Caleb, Bridget and Jamie standing back slightly to let Lily hug her older sister first. Melinda knelt down and caught the toddler in her arms as she got to her, hugging her tightly and kissing her head.

"Don't scare me like that ever again!" she said, looking up at Melinda earnestly. The older girl nodded and kissed the smaller's head.

"I promise, Lily," she said, holding her closer but hugging the other children too.

"So, what happened?" Bryn asked, looking between Arthur and Alfred in confusion.

"It was all Grace," Arthur smiled.

"I remembered the thing that Melinda did when I was in a coma when we were seven," Grace grinned.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Once everyone had gotten to hug Melinda, the girl grinning when she got surprise visits from Dona and Edward, the rest of the day slipped away into darkness signally that the visiting families were about to leave to settle the younger children.

With farewells said and promises from Dona that she'd be back with her family the next day, Melinda settled against Arthur with Lily squashed between them to finally relax after all of the excitement.

"So, you all missed me?" Melinda asked, looking between her sisters and parents.

"Lots!" smiled Lily.

"It just wasn't the same without you," Arthur replied, kissing his daughter's head.

"It was too quiet," Grace said.

"Way too quiet," Alfred added.

Melinda smiled a little. "You were all in my dream while I was out," she said, looking to Arthur. "At one point, you took my hand, Mum, and I couldn't move… It took everything, but I managed to hold your hand back."

"I know, Baby," he smiled, kissing her head as she leant it on his shoulder.

"It was quiet in my head too… When you all went home, I was just sat there in the dark by myself…"

"I know what you mean…" Grace said, smiling softly.

"You're not alone now though," Alfred said, looking between the twins.

"And you won't ever be again," Arthur said.

Melinda smiled at them, but then noticed Alfred's expression change slightly. "Dad?"

"Poor timing but I've just remembered something we've been putting off talking about until you could explain. Grace said that William had attached himself to you...?" Alfred said.

Nodding, Melinda took a slight breath in. "During that first attack when I was seven, he attached himself to me. That was how he got to London, Cherbourgh, Venice, San Francisco, Dublin and Necker Island. It wasn't the places that were haunted, it was me… That's why it hurt so much and the spell had so much more of an impact. It severed us but shredded through my soul too..."

"Are you okay?!" Arthur exclaimed, holding his daughter close to him in total shock.

"Yes," Melinda replied. "Just very, very weak at the moment…"

"But if it shredded your soul…"

Melinda smiled at her mother and motioned to the crystal around her neck still. "Atlantis may not have taken my body, but that doesn't mean that it's not been doing some stitch work inside."

"You're just staying on the couch with a blanket for the next few days and relaxing," Alfred said.

"Fine with me," Melinda said, smiling up at him. She turned her attention to Arthur when the Brit kissed her cheek softly, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Arthur wrapped his arms around her and held her close, kissing her head once again – very happy that she was home once again.

_**Notes:**_

**Sorry for such a long delay with a cliffhanger like that ^_^**

**I hope that this longer chapter makes up for it :D**

**So, are we happy with this ending? Melinda's okay! They're happy again and getting ready for Ben's arrival!**

**Next chapter will have the Italies coming for a visit and so much emotion again I hope you can handle it!**

**Also, I'm sorry if this wasn't as good as people were hoping for. I really tried to do my best, but as some very nasty Anon's on Tumblr decided to say "I have no talent and will never amount to anything". Oh, and that I'll never be as good as another writer on this site.**

**So, thank you to all of you that still support my stories. I will do my best to make sure they stay good for you all!**


	5. Start Anew

_**The Aftermath is Secondary**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Start Anew**_

Melinda didn't really know how but for some reason, despite feeling a nagging fatigue and pains in her joints, she still managed to wake up at 5am as she always used to. So, for a portion of the morning she laid in bed alone – simply staring into the darkness as she listened to the silence emanating around her. She didn't blame her family for still being asleep – far from it; she had expected them to be asleep after the stressful fortnight they had had to endure because of her.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to make it too far, but persistence had always been one of the girl's stronger points. Sitting up, she carefully swung her legs over the edge of the bed until she could feel her soft carpet brushing the pads of her feet. Taking a deep breath, she carefully stood up and made her way over to the door. Her head swam a little so she held onto the doorframe to regain her balance before continuing out into the hall and to the top of the stairs. For one sickening moment her stomach churned as she got flashbacks of the day she fell down the stairs, but this time she was prepared. Taking small steps and holding onto the banister for dear life, the girl managed to ever so slowly make her way to the bottom and into the living room – in which she promptly flopped down onto the sofa. Clicking her fingers, she summoned her duvet to her – lying with the TV on quietly and the duvet over her.

Come 8am, just as she was about to turn to a different channel, she heard movement upstairs. Listening, she smiled as she realised it was Grace and Lily wandering around on the landing – most likely walking to her bedroom to check on her. She chuckled quietly to herself as she imagined their faces at seeing her bedroom empty and sure enough a few seconds later the footsteps were faster and getting louder as they hurried down the stairs. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at her younger sisters – both of them looking relieved that she was okay.

"Why didn't you wake me up or say something in our heads?" Grace asked, sitting on the coffee table opposite her.

"I knew you all needed the rest and you know that I don't like being treated like an invalid," Melinda replied, putting her arm around Lily as the little girl climbed up onto the sofa to snuggle under the duvet with her.

"You are a bloody stubborn fool," Grace smiled, shaking her head. "Have you at least had something to eat?"

"Uh, no…" Melinda said awkwardly, poking Lily in a ticklish spot when the toddler rolled her eyes.

"Idiot," Grace sighed, shaking her head. "Well, Lily and I need food so I'll get you something too. You need to eat!"

"I know I need to eat," Melinda replied. "I was on a drip for 2 weeks remember…"

Shaking her head again, Grace walked out of the room to go pour them a few bowls of cereal leaving her two sisters to get comfortable on the sofa. She could hear Melinda muttering something to Lily, smiling as it made the little girl giggle. As much as she was finding Melinda's behaviour peculiar she had to admit that just having her back in the house was worth all the trouble that it may cause. Putting the bowls onto a tray, she carried them back into the living room and handed them out – careful with Lily and helping her to eat without dripping milk down her pyjama top. The one thing that was really worrying Grace at that moment was Melinda's appetite – that was one of the key things that always let her get a glimpse of how her sister was really feeling; if she ate slowly or didn't finish then she wasn't right, if she was fast and finished then everything was okay.

Melinda was slow and didn't finish her cereal.

Taking the bowl away when Melinda looked at it dismally, Grace gave her sister a comforting smile and nodded.

"It's okay if you can't finish it," she said. "You were asleep for a long time, there's going to be some adjustments needed…"

"Doesn't mean I'm happy about it…" Melinda replied, lying down on the sofa properly. Lily looked her worriedly and smoothed her hair, the older girl looking up at her and smiling softly. "You're going to take good care of me, aren't you?"

"Uh huh," Lily smiled, smoothing her sister's hair. "You look after me all the time; it's my turn to look after you now!"

Melinda chuckled softly and closed her eyes, letting the gentle feel of Lily's hand lull her to sleep. The toddler giggled as she realised her big sister had fallen asleep, looking at Grace with a bright smile.

"She's been asleep all week, why's she so tired?" she asked.

"It takes the body some time to readjust again," Grace replied with a smile.

"Oh," Lily giggled, jumping slightly and squeaking as Melinda started awake. "Mel! You okay?"

"Mel!" Grace said, kneeling beside the bed to help comfort her shaking sister. She looked around when she heard quick footsteps, watching as their startled parents rushed into the room (well, as fast as Arthur could rush in his condition).

"What happened?" Alfred asked, moving to sit on the coffee table. Arthur sat down next to Melinda and put his arm around her once they'd managed to sit her up.

"I had a nightmare…" she said quietly.

"What about?" asked Grace, looking at her sister carefully.

"I was all alone…" Melinda replied, closing her eyes as her breath came out shakily. "It was… really dark… so dark… and I could hear screaming… I kept looking around… This person needed help… They needed so much help but there was no one there. No one was helping and I couldn't find them… But then this sharp pain went through me and I fell… but I kept falling… and falling… and falling… and I realised… the one screaming was me…"

"You're not alone, Sweetheart," Arthur said, holding her closely. "You're not alone or in the dark anymore. Everything is fine."

Melinda nodded, but then jumped as a knocking sounded on the front door. Arthur rocked her gently and watched as Alfred got up and went over to the door and opened it – smiling as from behind he could tell that Alfred had a pretty surprised expression on his face.

"The armada's here, Arthur," Alfred called, grinning a little and letting in the vast amount of new comers – Antonio, chuckling a little at Alfred, carried Sirena into the house closely followed by Lovino and Marco; just after them Ludwig carried Lukas inside after letting Feliciano inside with Dona. The younger Italian hurried into the living room and straight to Melinda, leaning down and giving her the biggest most careful hug he could.

"I was so scared when Marco's text came through," he said. "I had no idea if you were okay or not and I am so happy that you are!"

"Thanks, Uncle Feli," Melinda replied, closing her eyes as she hugged the Italian back. She smiled at him as he pulled back slightly, kissing his cheek and chuckling as he kissed hers back. After Feliciano had moved to sit down elsewhere, Sirena and Lukas – having been put down by their fathers – climbed up onto her lap and hugged her carefully. "The robot's still working, Lukas."

Grinning, the usually stoic child hugged her more and nuzzled her. "Good!" he smiled, glad to hear that the little play dough robot he had created for her was doing its job still.

"Silly Mawco scared us so bad," Sirena said, smiling up at Melinda. "But Mama smacked him on the head when he got home!"

Laughing, Melinda looked between Lovino and Marco – Marco looking at his little sister with a look that said "I'm going to tickle you so much later" and Lovino with a slightly smug look on his face. However, it faded when he caught sight of the haunted look in Melinda's eyes.

"You don't look too good, Melinda…" he said.

"Yeah, you look like you've just had a fright," Dona said.

"Is everything okay?" asked Ludwig, looking between her, Alfred and Arthur in a silent question of 'did we come at a bad time'.

"I had a nightmare just now…" Melinda admitted. "But it's okay though… It's only a dream."

A silence lingered in the air, one that was starting to make Melinda feel worse than she already did. Glancing up at Marco, she almost teared up when she saw the worried expression on his face. Arthur was the first to notice the look between the pair, carefully getting up and picking Lily up.

"Why don't we all go outside and get some fresh air, yeah?" he smiled, looking at the others pointedly. "Melinda will be okay in here with Marco, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" said Marco, taking a moment to catch up with Arthur's hints. He stepped out of the way and watched as the families walked out of the living room to go outside through the backdoor, sitting down next to Melinda. She looked up at him and smiled slightly, shifting the covers a little and showing him the teddy he'd got her in San Francisco.

"I kept him with me," she said.

Smiling softly, Marco smoothed her cheek and chuckled. "Good," he said, but then his expression turned to a more serious one. "What was your nightmare about?"

Hugging her teddy closer to her, Melinda looked down at her lap and took a deep breath. "I was all alone… It was… really dark… and I could hear screaming… I kept looking around… This person needed help… They needed so much help but there was no one there. No one was helping and I couldn't find them… But then this sharp pain went through me and I fell… but I kept falling… and falling… and falling… and I realised… the one screaming was me…"

Marco put his arm around her and held her close. "Is that all?" he asked. Melinda nodded her head and lent against him so he kissed her head and held her closer. "If I could have slept in the hospital I wouldn't have left your side for anything… I'd never leave your side if I had the choice."

Sniffing a little, Melinda smiled softly and kissed his cheek. "One day maybe you won't have to that much."

"I hope that day's soon," Marco smiled.

"What do you have in mind for that day?" Melinda asked.

"I'd just be happy sitting on the sofa in our new house or whatever and just spending the day watching movies," Marco replied. Melinda chuckled at the sweet image in her head, hugging close to him.

"I love you, Marco," she said.

"I love you so much, Melinda," he replied.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

An hour later, everyone was back inside in the living room making sure that Melinda was doing okay. The kids were playing around with her, teasing Marco when she kissed Lukas' head a couple of times – Melinda joking around that the little boy's hugs were better than Marco's.

Feliciano, Ludwig and Dona were stood by the doorway watching everything that was going on; Feliciano smiling and laughing at the kids, Ludwig chuckling occasionally with his arm around Feliciano, but Dona was stood a little way away from them with a distant look on her face.

Ludwig glanced over at her, concerned as she rubbed her neck a little. He looked at the bruise on her temple and the one around the scar on the base of her neck, but on her face… her expression was a slight mystery to him. He knew that she was daydreaming like her mother usually did, but her eyes were sad. Her posture was low and withdrawn, nothing like she was usually like. He normally saw her bouncing into the room with a smile as bright as her hair and her eyes holding a little twinkle in them that always made him smile – sometimes on the outside but always inside.

"Dona, are you okay?" asked Feliciano, the Italian looking round Ludwig to their daughter. "

"M'fine…" the girl replied. Not liking the response, Ludwig went over to his daughter and put his hand on her shoulder. Surprised, Dona looked up at him. Nerves suddenly hitting him, Ludwig looked down at the girl – he felt like a failure all of a sudden, this girl was his daughter yet he knew nothing much about her. Well, he knew she loved to paint, that she was a very talented drummer and dancer, that the music she listened to could vary from some rock bands he'd never heard of to mainstream radio with presenters almost as hyper as she was. But he didn't know how to comfort her… He had never needed to before… She had never had nightmares before, she rarely cried and if she ever had he wasn't aware of it… She had always been strong with a bright smile and warm personality…

With no other options forming in his head, Ludwig nodded awkwardly to her, blinking however when she shifted and hugged him tightly. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and enveloped her in return; kissing her head.

"Ich liebe dich, Papa," Dona muttered.

"Ich liebe dich auch, Dona," he replied, smiling back at her when she looked up at him. He smiled more when she went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, kissing hers back and holding her close again.

"This is the first time you've really hugged me, Dad," Dona said, looking up at him and smiling.

Blinking slightly, Ludwig looked down in realisation before giving her an apologetic look. "I-I'm so sorry, Dona…"

"I understand why though," she smiled, causing him more surprise. "Just know that the best way to cheer me up is hugs, or simply hug me any time."

"Okay," he chuckled, glancing round at Feliciano.

"I told you so," smiled the Italian.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Everyone had gone home by early evening allowing for the family to have some time to themselves and make sure that Melinda was okay. When they finally realised that she was starting to doze off once more, glancing at the clock to see that it was much later than they had originally thought, Arthur got out of his seat carefully and made Lily go upstairs with him whilst Alfred picked Melinda up and carried her to her room.

Once Grace had gone to bed, Lily was settled and Melinda was comfortable, Arthur and Alfred made their way to their bedroom – Alfred shutting the door and watching as Arthur went over by their bed to change. A light smirk spread across his features, a deviant idea passing through his mind; he took a few steps forwards, taking his shirt off in the process, until he was right behind Arthur. He heard Arthur gasp when he stood upright again, his back pressing against Alfred's warm torso.

"A-Alfred?" asked the Brit, glancing over his shoulder up at the American. His breath hitched slightly and his head tilted to the side as Alfred started to kiss his neck, the kisses slowly becoming firmer and more prominent on areas of particular sensitivity to Arthur. His breathing started to become deeper, his eyes shutting as Alfred turned him around and gently laid him against the bed.

Looking up at Alfred, Arthur smiled at him – enjoying the touches of Alfred's lips against his skin. He was conscious of his stomach, the large bump protruding from him much greater – but he knew that that meant that their son was almost there. He'd felt him turning earlier in the day but said nothing about it because of Melinda's unease. Alfred moved above him and gently pressed against the bump as he leaned down to kiss Arthur passionately on the mouth – the Brit kissing him back eagerly.

But then he felt a sudden jolt and dampness, glancing down then up at Alfred.

Blinking slightly, Alfred looked down then at Arthur. "Are you…?"

"I think s-OH!"

Having done this twice before, Alfred was more calm than he used to be but still nervous as Arthur held his stomach in pain as a contraction started. Getting up and off of him, he quickly redressed before helping Arthur do the same – then he got the baby bag and went to each girl's room to wake them up.

Ben was coming.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

3am, May 29th.

The date and time were imprinted into Arthur for all of time and all for the little boy currently bundled up in a blue blanket in his arms. He smiled up at Alfred breathlessly, tears in his eyes as he turned his attention back to Ben Michael Kirkland-Jones.

He was small but the perfect size for a child his age, faint blonde hair the same shade as Arthur's on his head but already in a style that echoed Alfred. Everything about him reminded Arthur of when Alfred was little, and he knew that he – much like Lily and Melinda – were going to look a lot like their father.

Ever so slowly, Ben's eyes opened – the little boy looking up at his parents curiously with aqua eyes; more green than blue, the opposite of Grace's eyes.

"Hi, Ben," Alfred smiled, smoothing his cheek softly with his index finger. "I'm your daddy."

Blinking slightly, Ben lent against Alfred's finger then grinned toothlessly up at him, reaching his arms out of the blanket to him. Alfred carefully took him from Arthur and held him close, letting Ben look round to the girls as they entered the room.

"This is Lily," Alfred said, leaning over in his seat so that the little girl could get closer to them whilst she sat on the bed. She grinned and kissed his cheek.

"Hi, Ben!" she smiled, grinning as Ben giggled and put his hand on her cheek as some form of response.

"This is Grace," Alfred then said, chuckling as Grace popped her head into view and grinned.

"Hiya, Cutie," she grinned, tickling his cheek and causing him to giggle. Ben grinned again, glancing around Alfred and over to Melinda. Curious, he tapped on Alfred and kept looking at Melinda.

"That's Melinda," chuckled Alfred. "She's the one I said needed lots of hugs!"

"Did you?" Melinda said, genuinely surprised. Shaking her head, she moved close to Ben and smiled. "Hi, Ben," she said, kissing his cheek. Smiling up at her, Ben held his arms out to her and let himself be lifted by her – nuzzling close to her and holding onto the strands of hair dangling by his face. After a little while she let him go back to Arthur, the little boy looking up at his mother with a bright grin and tiny hands reaching to touch his face.

"Hi Ben," Arthur smiled, lowering his face down to kiss his son's forehead. "You have no idea how lucky you are to have sisters like Melinda, Grace and Lily. I promise you we will all do everything we can to make sure you stay happy. You are safe and you are loved, and I will protect you until the end of time or die trying."

_**Notes:**_

**And so we have Baby Ben!**

**I'm sorry for the delay on this story, things should be getting back into swing now I've had half term to recover from the shock of being back in college :/**

**Not really sure what I can say apart from I hope you keep following this series **

**Oh, and please check out my new project! It's called Unsterblich and should be scary, twist-filled and tense as Hell!**

**R&R and I'll see you all soon!**


	6. Seven Nation Army

_**The Aftermath is Secondary**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Seven Nation Army**_

Things in the Kirkland-Jones house were finally starting to settle down once again thanks to the arrival of their new little boy, everyone enjoying the new bouts of giggles that could now be heard echoing through their home. Ben seemed to lighten up the recently gloomy house, making everyone smile so easily by simply grinning up at them – Arthur and Alfred had even found that Melinda was a lot happier when she was sat down playing with her little brother, something that they had worried so greatly about since she first started having nightmares again.

Thankfully, as the weeks following Ben's arrival passed everything started to settle back to how they should have been: the twins had received acceptance letters to the college that they wanted to go to, Lily was doing more and more drawings, Ben was growing happily and healthily, and Arthur and Alfred were finally starting to relax once more.

Ben was now over a month and a half old, able to sit up on his own and make more sounds than he had been before. He was starting to look and act like a much older child than his age, but they weren't worried as nation children did age a little faster than humans.

However, events outside of their control started to take their toll on Alfred's health – the American nation falling ill once more as his economy dipped once again. It was nothing that they were terribly worried about though; it wasn't as bad as the first time it had happened, some simple bed rest being their best idea to make sure that Alfred didn't over exert himself.

Grace had said goodbye to Edward earlier that afternoon, the boy not feeling to well himself – the girl knew that he rarely caught bugs but when they did get to him they got to him badly. He was a fairly quick to recover but it did take a lot of effort on his part, so he tended to sleep for days just to get over it. She was playing on her Xbox when she heard Melinda and Marco leave the older girl's bedroom, the pair having spent most of the day in there.

"I'm just taking Marco home," Melinda said, popping her head into the main bedroom to see Arthur sat beside a sleeping Alfred and running his fingers through his hair. "It's way too dark outside for him to walk home alone… and I wouldn't ask you to leave Dad."

"It's fine, Melinda," Arthur smiled, looking to his oldest daughter. "Just be careful out there."

Nodding, Melinda smiled at Marco and held the boy's hand, teleporting them to his front step in an instant. They both looked around and smiled at her accuracy, Marco leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"I'll see you later, okay?" he said.

"Yeah, see you later," she replied, kissing him back.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Once Marco had gone inside and closed the front door behind him, Melinda took in a deep breath and looked around her at the night sky. Everything around her seemed so quiet and calm for a change, so instead of teleporting she decided that she would take a quiet walk home to try and clear her mind of some of the thoughts that had started to build up. She started to hum to herself as she looked around, her hands in the pockets of her shorts; everything really was so calm and quiet it was as if everything and everyone had gone to sleep at the very same time.

But then she felt a presence behind her. Something dark and foreboding that she really didn't like. Just as she was about to teleport away, someone grabbed her from behind and started to try and drag her away.

"GET OFF ME!" she screamed, trying to fight whomever it was who had grabbed her off. She could hear Grace call out to her in her head, but couldn't get out a reply in time as a rag soaked in chloroform was held over her mouth causing her to pass out.

Knowing that her sister was in trouble, Grace teleported as close to the scene as she could without exposing her magic – looking around silently to try and see who was attacking Melinda. Before she could do anymore though, she was struck on the back of her head and knocked out.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Arthur knew that something wasn't right.

He felt uneasy in his chest, not just for how long Melinda had been gone but because he knew that something was happening out in the city that was going to affect him in some way. He got off of the bed and quickly ran to Grace's room to see that the younger of the twins was also gone, shaking his head a little as he walked back into his room and saw Alfred awake.

"What's wrong, Arthur?"

"Melinda's not come home and Grace is missing…" Arthur replied. "I can tell something's going on out in the city but I don't know what… I don't want to jump to conclusions but…"

"Calm down," Alfred said, though in his eyes Arthur could tell he was panicking too. "We'll be able to find them… Well, you will…"

"I…" Arthur started to say, but cut himself off when he heard a knocking on the front door. With a confused expression, he hurried downstairs and opened the door to the sight of the two Italy's, Antonio and Ludwig with their younger children. "What's…?"

"Are Melinda and Grace okay?" Feliciano said, looking up at Arthur. "Dona and Marco are missing… Their rooms were a mess and the front door was wide open…"

Arthur was about to answer them when they heard hurried footsteps coming up behind them, all of them looking round to see Gilbert, Matthew and a sleeping Jamie coming towards them.

"Tom and Adam are gone…" Gilbert said, looking at the others.

"Melinda and Grace are too…" Arthur finally said, shaking his head. "Fuck…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Melinda was the first to wake up, finding herself, Grace, Dona and Marco locked away in a dark little room. She had no idea where they were or what had happened to them but all she knew was the room was freezing cold and her immune system still hadn't rebuilt. She shivered as she watched Grace start to stir, wrapping her arms around herself as the younger twin groaned and opened her eyes.

"Mel…?" asked Grace, looking up at her sister.

"Hey…" the other replied, smiling a little bit.

"Where the hell are we?"

"I have no idea…"

The pair looked around as Dona and Marco woke up too, smiling at them as Grace tried to lessen Melinda's freezing.

"Glad to see you two aren't dead," she said.

"Worse for wear but probably better than Mel…" Dona replied, looking at Melinda who looked very close to passing out. Marco moved over to her and took over from Grace's position, trying to use his own body heat to keep Melinda warm.

"They've blocked my fucking magic too…" Grace sighed. "We have to just sit it out…"

"Great…" Marco said, blinking as Melinda completely slumped against him. "Oh no… She's burning up too… What a time to get sick…"

Dona sighed a little, but jumped and gasped as the door opened nearby her – moving out of the way as quick as she could over to Grace, the pair watching in shock as Adam and Tom were thrown into the room. They looked very worse for wear, just starting to wake up as they hit the floor and looked at everyone. The two men that had been carrying them looked at them all with smirks on their faces.

"We're having a two for one trade," the first, a balding man with a large nose, said. "We'll take Sleeping Beauty there."

"NO!" Grace shouted.

"Over my dead fucking body," Marco growled.

The second, a man with thick curly hair and a scar on his cheek, pushed his jacket aside slightly to show them the handle of gun. "It'd be a right shame, but it can be arranged." Baldy picked Melinda up away from Marco, kicking the boy to the ground hard when he tried to get her back. Smirking, Scar looked at him and pointed his gun down at his head. "You're not immortal, boy. And you can't get healed in this room. We've taken into consideration all of your abilities so I suggest if you want to live to see her again you stay the fuck down."

"What do you want from us?" Grace asked calmly, helping Adam and Tom shift out of the men's ways.

"Welcome to the darker side of politics," Baldy said, carrying Melinda out of the room. Scar smirked at them for a moment longer before walking out too and locking the heavy door behind them.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Setting all of the children, even Lily and Ben, down on the bed with Alfred to watch over them, the nations looked at the sick American with nerves on their faces.

"We're going to get the kids back," Arthur said. "We don't know how but we will."

"I'll make sure these kids are okay," Alfred replied, watching them all go downstairs quickly. They stopped by the front door though when they saw an envelope laying on the floor that wasn't there before.

"What's that?" Feliciano asked, picking the envelope up and passing it to Arthur. The Briton shook his head in equal confusion, opening it up and pulling out a quickly scribbled note.

_We know who you are. We know what you can do. If you want your kids back alive, come to the old warehouse in West Street but don't think we'll be taken easily._

"It's a ransom note," Arthur said, reading it allowed to them. "We need to hurry…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

A scream could be heard faintly in another section of the building, all of the teenagers freaking out when they realised that it had come from Melinda. It took both Adam and Tom to pull Marco back to the floor as he tried to punch his way through the steel door, Grace shaking her head a little.

"Mel…" Marco sighed, slumping against the wall. "I just got her back… I can't lose her again…"

"We'll get her back, Marco," Adam said. "We will."

Grace nodded, but then jumped as she felt her phone start to ring. "…This place blocks magic but I can still get a signal…" she muttered, answering the phone in confusion. "Hello?"

"_Ladies and gentlemen, I can't see a fucking thing and my hand is bleeding…_"

"Who the fuck is calling you?" exclaimed Dona, looking at Grace exasperatedly. "Is it our parents?"

"Hang on, I'll put speaker phone on," Grace smiled. "Melinda."

"What?!" Marco blinked, hurrying over to them.

"_Hold the applause please_," came Melinda's voice through the device.

"You said you can't see anything," Grace said. "What happened?"

"Are you okay?" Marco asked. "Why did you scream?"

"_This room is pitch black_," Melinda explained. "_I screamed because I got cut on the glass that's spread across the floor…_ _This room is freaking freezing… More so than your room…_"

"How are you feeling?" asked Marco, not really knowing whether he really wanted to hear the answer when she was so far away alone.

"_Close to passing out again…_" replied Melinda honestly. "_The whole building is cut off from magic… I can't do anything out here…_"

"Melinda, I have no credit… But you obviously do!" Grace said, grinning. "Call our parents! They're probably all together by now so call and get us some help! But ring me when you finish, okay?"

"Will do," Melinda replied, hanging up.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The able-bodied nations were half way through their trek across the city in search of their children, each of them getting more and more nervous the closer they got. They didn't know if their children were really still alive or how badly hurt they would be when they got there, but tried to keep those thoughts at bay.

Blinking slightly, Arthur looked to his coat pocket as his phone began to ring – pausing for a moment to get it out only to gasp in surprise when he realised who was calling him.

"Melinda!" he said, causing the other nations greater surprise though they continued to walk.

"_Mum, you've got to come help us…_" Melinda said, Arthur able to tell she was shaking from the tremor in her voice.

"We're coming, Melinda," he replied. "We got a note telling us where you are."

"_The others are in a different room to me… It's so cold…_"

"Hold on, Melinda," Arthur said, not liking her tone. "Just hold on, we'll be there soon."

"_I've got my hand on something…_" Melinda said, coughing as her throat constricted slightly. "_I… I'm scared…_"

"Don't be scared, Baby," Arthur said, looking around. "I'm coming to get you and there is nothing that can stop me."

"_I love you, Mummy_," Melinda said, sniffing a little.

"I love you too, Melinda, so just hang on a little longer," he said. "I can see where you're being kept now."

"_Magic doesn't work in here… but I'll see you in a bit, yeah? Promise?_"

"I'll keep that in mind," Arthur said, smiling a little. "I promise, I will get you back safely."

Letting Melinda hang up, Arthur looked to the others as they stopped outside of the warehouse. "Magic is useless in there," he said.

"…What are you going to do?" Matthew asked, looking at the older nations as Antonio and Gilbert laughed.

"Sometimes I forget just how young you are, Matthew," Antonio said, grinning at Arthur.

"They're going to regret messing with the former British Empire," Arthur said, grinning wickedly as he looked back at Antonio. "Are you going with guns or your axe?"

"Do you have to make me choose?" Antonio said. "My axe I think; these bastards deserve to feel more than just a bullet."

"And you, Gilbert?"

"I think my blade will give the right message," Gilbert smirked. Arthur nodded and got them each of their weapons of choice, passing Ludwig, Feliciano, Lovino and Matthew guns. "Are you sure you don't want to wait outside?" Gilbert quickly asked, glancing down at Matthew stomach.

"I'm coming with you."

"Let's go then," Arthur said.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

"_They said they'd been given a ransom note telling them where we were…_"

The teenagers looked at the mobile in Grace's hands, nodding a little as Melinda repeated to them everything she'd been told by Arthur. They were starting to feel a little more reassured now that they knew that their parents were on their way, but still couldn't stop the small feelings of dread that they could sense pooling in the pits of their stomachs. They may have only seen two men but that didn't mean that more weren't waiting now that a seven nation army was coming to get them.

"You sound bad, Mel…" Tom said, looking at the phone a little sadly. "But try and stay awake, okay? Everything is going to be okay now."

"_I'm so tired…_" Melinda sighed, coughing a little. "_I'm so sick…_"

"Just stay awake, please Melinda," Marco said, his hands balling into fists at the idea of her in pain alone.

"You can do it, Melinda," Adam smiled. "We know you can."

Along the hallway they assumed was on the outside of the room they were in, the teenagers suddenly heard a lot of muffled shouts of pain and swishes of metal crashing against stone and bodies.

"I think they've found us," Tom grinned.

_I'm going to find Melinda._

_Arthur that's suicide to go alone!_

_I'll go with you._

"Melinda, Mum's coming to get you," Grace said, having heard the conversation outside. "Uncle Gilbert too. Hold on!"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Arthur and Gilbert tread carefully through the building after they separated from the others – they had helped find a key for their door and left them to get the other teenagers out of the building safely having left a trail of bodies behind them.

The building was too quiet, but they both knew that more people would be surrounding Melinda's room if she had been separated so thoroughly from the others who had no one guarding their door. Yet still they saw no other signs of life.

But then up ahead of them they heard a clatter and a heart wrenching scream, a sound that pierced through Arthur like the blade he was carrying had been turned against him.

"Mel…" he said, wasting no time in beginning to sprint towards the double doors ahead of him. With Gilbert hot on his tail, the two nations burst through the doors into a room filled with people.

"Shit…" Gilbert muttered, taking a quick scan of the room and spotting Melinda near the very back behind held by her throat. Arthur spotted her too, growling venomously as he lunged forwards and started to strike at anyone who got in his way with his sword.

"Mum…" he heard Melinda choke out, speeding up his pace and hitting every target that was put before him. But then she screamed again and he could see Scar holding a knife to her throat. "Mum!"

Scar held the knife tighter to her skin so it pierced it just enough for a tickle of blood to run down her neck. "Don't move another step," he said, looking at Arthur and Gilbert. "Drop your swords or I drop her."

They did as they were told at the sight of the blood on Melinda's neck, grunting slightly as they were grabbed by two people they had failed to hit in time – Arthur never taking his eyes off of Melinda.

"Now don't try anything funny," Scar said, backing towards the door behind him.

"It's okay, Mel," Arthur said softly when Melinda struggled a little. "I'm going to get you out of here; I promised, didn't I?"

"Make one false move and her head will no longer be connected to her shoulders," Scar warned threateningly, pressing the knife deeper against her neck to emphasise his point.

"Do anything to my daughter and you'll wish you were dead," Arthur said, glaring at the man.

Scar barked out a laugh and grinned to the two guys holding the nations. "You're not going to get the chance," he said before dragging Melinda out of the room.

"MUM!"

"MELINDA!" Arthur shouted, struggling against the hold the other man had on him. He stamped down on the guy's foot, so hard that he heard a crack, and then elbowed him in the nose when he was distracted by the pain. Gilbert did the same to the guy holding him and followed after Arthur, listening for any sign of Melinda again. Soon they heard a yelp and a slam, so ran in that direction to find a series of locked doors.

"Mum…"

Listening to the whimper from the closest door to them, Arthur ran to it allowing Gilbert to go off in search of the man with the scar.

"I'm here, Melinda," he said, trying to open the door.

"I'm locked in…"

"It's okay, I can get you out," Arthur said. "Just keep talking to me, Baby… How are you feeling?"

"I feel so sick…" Melinda replied, listening as Arthur started to try and pick the lock. "Mum…"

"Yes, Honey?"

"I'm not going to get out, am I?" she asked quietly. "I should have died those weeks ago and this is karma coming round to try and finish off what should have really happened…"

"Don't talk like that," Arthur said, trying to focus on the lock and her at the same time. "Don't ever think like that. You were not meant to die and you are not going to die in here if I can help it." He could hear a slight noise, like Melinda slumping forwards so sped up a little. "Mel… Talk to me, Baby…"

"I f-feel… r-really… b-bad…" Melinda said weakly, blinking slightly as the lock clicked and Arthur pushed the door open. Tears welled up in her eyes a little as she got picked up by her mother and held close.

"Let's get you out of here, Baby," he said.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Carrying the girl out of the building, Arthur looked towards the road and spotted the group (teens and all) surrounding Scar as he laid on the floor under Grace's feet – the girl stood on top of him and stamping on him occasionally to keep him winded.

"Nice work," he said as they got closer; the group looking round relieved as they realised Melinda was safely in his arms. Marco ran over to them and took Melinda when Arthur passed her over, holding her close as she smiled and lent her head on him. They watched as Arthur walked over to Grace and Scar, looking down at the man with such contempt that the other nations backed up slightly.

"Get off him, Grace," he said, Grace blinking slightly but doing as she was told. Arthur crouched down and pulled the man into a sitting position, pulling a pistol he'd hidden on his belt from it and pointing it at Scar's leg. He pulled the trigger without emotion, just a cold look in his eyes as the bullet hit the man's leg non-fatally. "Just in case you were going to try and run away."

"Mum…?"

Looking round to Melinda's voice, Arthur smiled at her just like he would if she found him out in the garden tending to his roses. "Don't worry, Melinda," he said. "Why don't you head home and I'll clean up here."

"I'll stay with you…" Grace said, not really trusting Arthur at that moment. Arthur looked at her for a moment then nodded, Melinda watching the pair drag the man back into the building – slightly afraid of what her mother had just turned into.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Having got Melinda back safely, and gathered their children, the other nations stayed at the house for a long enough time to allow Matthew to patch Melinda up with a first aid box that Alfred had directed them to – the Canadian cleaning the wounds on her hand and neck before bandaging them so they wouldn't get infected. Marco then took her to her room and helped her change for bed before kissing her head and going back to his parents.

They left just as Grace and Arthur arrived back at the house.

"Is Melinda okay?" Arthur asked, looking at them.

"I patched her up, but she was very quiet," Matthew said. "We'll see you later, Arthur…"

"Thanks, Matthew," Arthur replied, hurrying inside after Grace and up to Melinda's bedroom. He knocked on the door and heard her start to cough inside, so went inside and helped her sip the water that had been left on her bedside table. "Are you okay?"

"Not really…" she replied.

"What's wrong?"

"I was stupid and got everyone into danger… again…" she said, letting Arthur sit down next to her. "And then…"

"And then what?" Arthur asked. Melinda shook her head though. "Tell me, Mel…"

"You scared me…" Melinda said in a quiet voice.

Blinking in surprise, Arthur looked ashamed of himself. "…I'm sorry…" he said, holding her close to him. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be," Melinda replied, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Mum… No matter what."

"I love you too, Baby," Arthur said, kissing her head and holding her close to him. "Just the thought of losing you, any of you… I was scared and took hold of the only thing that would get me through that without your father… I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay, Mum," Melinda smiled, kissing his cheek. "Thank you for getting me back."

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else."

_**Notes:**_

**Tired. Notes will be short today.**

**West Street is fictional as far as I'm aware. If it's real then I have no clue if there's a warehouse on it. Once again, this is fiction.**

**The working title of this chapter started as "Taken" then I counted the parents and realised it clicked with a song I was listening to. Marcus Collins, I love you man.**

**Two updates in two days, I'm getting back into the swing of things :)**

**Next story to be updated: Reputation**


	7. Baby Talk and Broken Homes

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Seven**

**Baby Talk and Broken Homes**

After the events of the night before, the family were still reeling from what had happened. Despite the words that Melinda had said to him, Arthur could barely sleep through the night thinking about how quickly he had reverted back to his youth – he knew that it was the fear-induced-adrenaline that had brought back that dark side of him, but he couldn't find anyway of justifying it to himself.

After Melinda had admitted that he had scared her, all he could think about was the look on her face when he had turned to her after shooting the man that had locked her away. He hadn't noticed the distress in her eyes, a form of terror that had differed from that which the kidnappers had caused her. He kept remembering how he had acted, how he had been so nonchalant about the whole event in those final moments.

He remembered what Grace had witnessed when she volunteered to stay behind with him – her face remained calm and neutral, but he knew that she too was a little scared despite becoming so desensitised to events like that. They had thrown Scar into the very room he had locked Melinda in – onto the sharp shards of glass he had forced her to tremble against, leaving him to bleed to death in that abandoned warehouse.

His sleep was disjointed and terrible that night – he kept waking up every couple of hours, just lying under the covers beside Alfred; occasionally turning over to care for his ill husband. When his alarm clock sounded at 6am, he was already awake – so he simply pressed the button to turn it off and hauled himself reluctantly out of bed to get himself ready for work.

The warm water of the shower did wonders to ease his aching muscles and to wake him up a little more from the depressed stupor he was slowly putting himself into. With a little effort, he got out from under the calming stream and wrapped a towel around himself before heading back to the main bedroom to dry off and get dressed into his suit for work. Smiling softly, he went over to Alfred when he heard him yawn – leaning down to kiss his forehead as the ill American opened his eyes and looked up at him.

"Morning, Love," he smiled, running his fingers through Alfred's messy locks.

"Mornin'," Alfred replied, his voice hoarse and slurred ever so slightly. They both looked round when they heard Ben shout out from his room, Alfred looking up at Arthur with slight worry.

"I'll check on him," Arthur said reassuringly, smoothing Alfred's hair one more time before leaving the room and walking down the corridor and into Ben's. He grinned when he saw Lily stood beside Ben's cot with a big grin on her face, the little boy grinning down at her and bouncing as he had managed to pull himself into a standing position – a proud look was obvious on Ben's features, the little boy grinning over at Arthur when he realised he was there.

"Mummy, look at Ben!" Lily grinned, glancing at her baby brother as he laughed and bounced more.

"Oh wow!" Arthur exclaimed, walking over to the crib and speaking clearly for Alfred's benefit as he knew he'd be listening through the baby monitor. "You're such a big clever boy for standing up on your own like that!" He picked him and sat down on the floor with him, standing him front of him. "Can you do it without the bars?"

Ben looked at Arthur a little nervously, keeping a tight hold of his mother's hands before slowly letting go of him – standing okay for a moment before overbalancing and having to be caught by Arthur.

"That was so close, Buddy!" he grinned, lifting the boy up as he stood. As he turned around he saw Melinda, aided by Grace as the older girl was still a little ill, watching with smiles at the doorway. "Why don't we go show Daddy how good you're getting at standing up?" When the little boy nodded, Arthur smiled and carried him to the main bedroom – the girls following after them.

"Hey," smiled Alfred, watching as Arthur walked over to the bed.

"Ben has something he wants to show you," the Brit smiled, setting Ben down on the bed and let him go. Giggling, Ben stayed stood up for a little longer than earlier before falling down onto him bum and giggling more.

"Oh wow!" Alfred grinned, covering his mouth as he started to cough slightly.

"You're gonna have to look out for Daddy today, Ben," Melinda smiled, sitting on the bed and clearing her throat.

"I'm leaving you in charge, Ben, while I'm at work," Arthur said, smiling at him softly and kissing his head. He looked up at Alfred and smiled a little. "I have to leave now, so don't push yourself too hard."

"I'll try not to," Alfred replied. Nodding, Arthur smiled and kissed the girls' heads before heading to the bedroom door. "I'll see everyone later."

"…Ah…" Ben said, looking at Arthur who waved and left the room. Confused, Ben looked up at Alfred with an expression questioning why he was letting him go.

"Mommy has to go to work," the American said, kissing Ben's head. "He always has, but he'll be back soon!" Being too young still, Ben didn't understand what was going on – his bottom lip wobbled and he teared up. "I know how you feel, Ben…" Alfred continued, causing all his children to look at him curiously. "There were times when I was little that your Mommy would go away for ages and I would never get to see him… But he'll be back in no time for you."

"Oh Dad," the twins said, watching as Ben hugged their father tightly.

Hugging his son back, Alfred smoothed his hair and smiled at him. "Anyway, how are you going to take care of me, Ben?" he asked, chuckling as Ben babbled in baby, giggled and nuzzled him. "Will you now?"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

A few hours passed, all with Alfred getting progressively healthier throughout – he was able to eat some of the lunch that Grace had prepared for him but other than that it was simple bed-rest that was slowly getting him through his illness – meaning he was now taking a well needed nap.

Bored, Grace was now spending her time texting Edward to catch him up on the events that he missed the previous evening – finding out that he too had caught the sickness bug that was making its way around the city (and she knew that when he got sick it hit him hard as he rarely got ill). She glanced at Melinda and Ben, smiling when she realised that their older sibling was trying to teach the youngest to talk.

"Let's teach you how to say Daddy," Melinda smiled, sitting the little boy on her lap. "I'll sound it out and you try to repeat, okay? Da."

"Na!"

"Nearly! Da!"

"…D…Da!"

"Yeah! Next part is Dee. Dee."

"D... De… Dee!"

Melinda grinned and hugged him close. "Now put it all together!"

"Da… Dee… Daddy!"

"That's it!" Melinda grinned, hugging the little boy more.

"Daddy!" Ben grinned, crawling off of her lap and up Alfred's chest so that he was level with his face. "Daddy!" Grinning more as Alfred's eyes opened and looked up at him, Ben giggled. "Daddy!"

Smiling brightly, Alfred sat up and hugged the little boy close to him. "Oh, my God, Ben!" he exclaimed. "You talked! He talked! Oh, I'm so proud of you, Buddy!"

"Let's teach you how to say Mummy, Ben, so we can call him and show him!" Melinda grinned, shifting closer as Ben nodded – the boy happy that he was starting to pick up words a bit quicker. "Mu."

"Ma."

"Close," Melinda smiled. "Mu."

"M… Mu…?"

"Yup! Me."

"Me!"

"And together that makes?"

"MUMMY!"

Proud, Melinda got her phone out of her pocket and dialled Arthur's work number, putting the device on speaker phone as the dial tone sounded. She grinned when she heard Arthur pick up the phone.

"Hello?" he said, his tone sounding very distracted.

"Hi, Mum," Melinda smiled. "Sorry if we're distracting you."

"Hm?" he said. "Oh no, no a distraction would be welcome about now."

"Well, we have the perfect little distraction here," Melinda grinned, winking at Ben.

"MUMMY!"

There was a stunned silence from Arthur's end of the line before he caught himself and talked with a grin in his tone. "Oh, my God, Ben! You're so clever! I'm so proud of you! I wish I was there to give you a big hug!"

"He said Daddy first though!" Alfred teased.

"I taught him," Melinda laughed.

"Mel!" Arthur complained. "Well, it's not fair because Melinda taught him the word first!"

"It's totally fair," Alfred laughed.

"I only taught him Daddy first because he needed a bit of brightening up," Melinda smiled. "The point is he learnt Mummy faster."

"Ha!"

"DADDY MUMMY!" Ben giggled, laughing as Alfred engulfed him in a hug.

"Mel could be a nursery teacher!" Lily grinned.

"I think so too," Arthur smiled, chuckling. "Maybe you should see if there's a job going at one of the nurseries in the city?"

"After college…" Melinda groaned.

"No, during the summer and college," Arthur said. "You both need to get a part time job."

"Really?!" Grace complained. "Why?!"

"Because as much as you'll be supported for who you are, you have to do some things independently for a while," Alfred said.

"Fine…" Melinda sighed. "Jobs are hard to come by these days though, so you can't complain if nothing comes of it."

"Okay…" Grace sighed, looking at Alfred. "I'm just popping out to see Edward for a bit."

"Okay, Baby."

"We won't as long as you are looking for one," Arthur smiled.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

A little while after the phone call (in which Arthur listened to Melinda teach Ben further words), Arthur looked around his office and sighed as he felt his neck stiffening from looking over folder after folder of paper work all day.

Getting up from his desk, he opened the office door and glanced outside, grinning when he found that his assistant (a neurotic man named Alistair) had left his desk and was nowhere to be seen. Taking his opportunity, Arthur fled from the building and went outside into the open to get some fresh air.

He walked along the streets near his work place, enjoying his little moment of freedom as he knew that he would get shouted at by Alistair when he got back into the office. However, he didn't get far when he saw some leaves flutter down in front of his face. Blinking, he looked up and saw a very familiar young girl lying on a branch in a tree above him picking off the leaves and letting them flutter to the ground.

"Emily?" he asked, jumping slightly and catching the 15 year old as she yelped and fell from the tree in surprise. Looking up at him, Edward's younger sister had a look of total surprise on her face.

"…Thanks, Mr Kirkland…" she said.

"Call me Arthur," he replied, smiling and setting her on her feet again. He watched her smooth her clothes down, every little mannerism she was showing reminding him ever more of his fallen first mate – Emily's namesake and ancestor. "What brings you over here? Don't you live on the other side of the city?"

"I was walking around…" the girl replied, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

"What's on your mind?" Arthur asked, looking at her softly. Emily looked up at him and shrugged slightly – she knew him, and liked him, and was fully aware of the nation thing (thanks to Grace turning her and her parents into fake-nations when Edward had died) but she didn't know that much about him.

"Well, I was taking a break…" she said. "Grace has gone round to see Edward cos he's sick… But, I've been spending most of my time recently up in the attic…"

"Can I ask why?"

Emily nodded. "I've been looking at some of the old things up there," she explained. "I found this old chest and it's got our family tree and really old pictures in it… Some of the pictures are actually really old paintings. There's one that looks like myself and Edward, but they're older than us, so I've been looking into our family history." Arthur blinked, lost for words at that moment. "I've been going back over the family tree and there are a brother sister way back on the list, like back in the 1600s, called Emily and Edward Alden. It's so weird, but I think that the painting may be of them… No one else knows that I've found any of it though…"

"I knew them…" Arthur said, thinking back to the days when his Emily had been alive.

"You knew them?" Emily said, only surprised by the sheer improbability of him meeting her and her ancestors.

"Emily was my first mate when I was the captain of The Bloody Rose," Arthur explained, sitting down on the nearest bench to them with her.

"You were a captain?" Emily questioned. "Where? Was it a pirate ship? Was she a pirate?!"

"She was," Arthur nodded, smiling a little at her enthusiasm. "Right until her last breath… She was the only person that I would listen to."

"Really?" Emily smiled. "She must be why I like sailing and adventuring and stuff."

"You are exactly like her," Arthur chuckled. "I would often find her sitting down on random high places, or lying along banisters on the ship. There would be times I made her jump as I did with you and she'd fall down and I'd have to catch her. You are identical to her as well."

"Cool," Emily chuckled. "I've been trying to put together all of the history. I'm interested in that kind of thing, so it's been fun sitting up there by myself and looking through it all. This has been a bit funner though."

"I'm glad," Arthur smiled. "And I'll answer any questions I can."

"Thanks, Arthur."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

When Arthur got home, he was expecting to be able to just kick his shoes off and lay on the bed with his husband but when he opened the front door he was met by a bad sight. Melinda had just ran downstairs with Ben and Lily in her arms, the oldest child setting her siblings down in the living room and only just realising that she had ran past Arthur – panic etched right across her face.

"Mum!" she said, hurrying over to him. "Mum...! Something's wrong with Dad! I was just coming to call you! He stopped breathing for a moment and now he's coughing and sweating and breathing weird! I think this is more than just some sickness!"

"Alfred…" Arthur muttered, hurrying upstairs without another word and making his way to the main bedroom. Inside, he found Alfred shaking and panting on their bed – the American's whole body caked in sweat which had soaked his hair and now the bedding. He looked over at Arthur and tried to talk but couldn't get any words out so Arthur ran over to him, clicking his fingers and producing a cool, damp cloth to place over his forehead as he took the bed covers off of him. "Shh… Shhh… Everything's going to be okay…"

"A-Art-th-ur…" Alfred panted, glancing down at his trembling chest as he felt more than just the damp of sweat on his skin. Arthur looked down and froze as he saw a large gash appear close to Alfred's heart on his chest, the blood seeping out and leaking over his bare chest – forcing himself not to panic for Alfred's sake, he kissed his husband's damp forehead and smoothed his cheek. "I'm going to need the first aid kid… so just take deep breaths and stay still…"

Alfred nodded, watching as Arthur ran to the bathroom to get the first aid kit out from the cupboard under the sink – trying his hardest to do as he was told as Arthur came back as quickly as he could. After cleaning up the blood, and drying up as much sweat as he could, Arthur then cleaned the wound and bandaged Alfred's chest as the American finally started to calm down.

"Are you okay, Love?" he asked. "It's not too tight is it?"

"N-No… It's fine," Alfred said, taking a shaky breath and groaning. "God… That was nasty…"

"I imagine it was…" Arthur replied, smoothing his cheek softly. "Only something to do with your country makes something like that spontaneously happen though…"

"Turn on the news, Arthur…"

Doing as he was told, Arthur got the remote for the TV in their bedroom and flicked on the device – he and Alfred watching as the first news channel they could find showed footage of a tornado tearing through the North-East coast of America.

"Oh, God…" Arthur said. "Is that your house?!"

"Yes…" Alfred replied, closing his eyes as he couldn't look at the footage any longer. "A tornado… We've got to go there Arthur… Now."

_**Notes:**_

**Oh, it's been too long since I've worked on this story! URGH IT'S SO GOOD!**

**Let's go through this bit by bit:**

**~Arthur's feelings of his Pirate days now. Anyone would be shocked if they'd gone through such a change and then suddenly reverted back to something in a panic and had to deal with the consequences afterwards.**

**~Ben talking and crawling. BECAUSE HE'S JUST SO DARN CUTE. (He and Lily are mini versions of Alfred ;])**

**~Emily Alden: We've met her before but just as an explanation in case you didn't get it in the chapter; she is the reincarnation of Arthur's first mate from when he was a pirate, she is the younger sister of Grace's boyfriend, and she will play a key part in a future storyline.**

**~Tornado attack. This isn't working to any time line or anything (seeing as we had them playing with a Wii 17 years before this point in time) so we planned this out in December 2011 and wanted a natural disaster to strike Alfred's home. This is the result :)**

**I hope this long chapter makes up for the long delay. I've been working on so much but things should be getting back to normal now :D **


	8. Lost in the Tear of Time

_**The Aftermath is Secondary**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Lost in the Tear of Time**_

Staring in shock at Alfred's determined expression, Arthur shook his head and frowned. "No, Alfred," he said. "You are in no fit state to travel half way across the world! And into that nightmare over there?! No!"

"We don't have any choice!" Alfred said, sitting up and wincing a little because of the wound on his chest. "We are going over there, Arthur! Or do you want another repeat of last time?! You know, me being taken away from you? If we all go then there's no chance of the people running my country telling me to come alone. And if anything were to happen to me over there… Like the second tornado that's due… Then I'd have you there to look after me instead of nurses and doctors who have no clue!"

Arthur looked at him steadily before closing his eyes and nodding. "Okay, Alfred…" he muttered, leaning his forehead down on the American's. "Okay…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Alfred looked out of the window numbly, looking down at the runway that was still level with the wheels of the jet. Beside him, Lily curled up to his side to keep him company; Grace sat opposite playing with her laptop and Melinda was sat with Ben on her lap – the little boy still had no idea what was going on, looking around the jet curiously as he saw lots of things that he wanted to get his hands on and play with.

Arthur came back from the front of the plane and sat down on the other side of Lily, smoothing her hair and holding Alfred's hand softly. He could tell that Alfred was in a lot of pain, not only from the physical damage that he had sustained by the mental strain of the fear of his people – all those people who had been caught in the tornado, whose homes had been destroyed like his, and lost family too…

"I told the pilot that we're ready to go," he said softly. "He said that it'll be a bit choppy when we get closer because the winds still pretty strong, so you're going to go lie down when the time comes… I'm not risking you getting hurt anymore."

"Okay," Alfred said, not liking being treated like a child but knowing that if he were to argue Arthur would become more upset that he already was. "I'm so sorry about this…"

"Don't be stupid, Dad," Grace said, looking up from her laptop. "You didn't ask for this to happen… So, I've had to leave Edward to get over his bug alone? He's got his sister there helping him, and you've got us."

"Marco's cancelled the tickets he had to take us to the cinema and got his money back," Melinda smiled. "It's okay, Dad. You know we'd drop anything for you."

"Are you sure?" he said.

"Daddy, stop being silly," Lily said, nuzzling against his side.

"Daddy!" Ben said, nodding his head to say that was his final answer. Alfred chuckled a little but held onto the arm of the chair as the jet took off. His teeth were gritted but he didn't let on that he was in a bit more pain from the sudden jolt – they didn't need to worry.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

No words could describe just how the family felt as they looked up at what was left of Alfred's house. Melinda could see the remains of what used to be her bedroom hanging from a large gaping hole in the side of the building, Grace could see her piano crushed and broken under debris, Lily saw old toys destroyed…

Ben's eyes were wide as he looked up at the building – Alfred looking down at him and kissed his head.

"It's not meant to look like that," he said softly. "It's usually…"

"It's okay, Dad," Grace said, putting her hand on his arm gently. "Mum and I will be able to fix it in no time."

"Of course," Arthur said, kissing his husband's cheek. He looked up into his eyes and smiled softly. "Just go relax in the garden and we'll get to work."

"I'll go put our stuff in the basement," Melinda said, making the cases hover. "Looks like that's the only place not damaged by the storm…"

Splitting off into the small groups they had agree, Alfred took Lily and Ben round to the back garden whilst Grace and Arthur stood at specific points at the front of the house. The pair looked up at the damage, knowing that it was going to take a lot of power to rebuild everything – including the damage to the items to the inside. They both took a deep breath and started chanting the same spell, their eyes closed in concentration – the air around them started to chill and swirl around them, the power of their duel spell shaking through them as the building slowly started to rebuild itself.

However, they felt a sudden ripple in time as they chanted. A force so strong it distracted them for long enough that the spell turned dangerous – the pair only having enough time to shield themselves as an explosion blasted them backwards and shook the already weak structure, which thankfully didn't collapse.

"Urgh…" Grace groaned, rubbing her head and looking around. "Mum?"

"I'm alright…" said Arthur, getting up as Grace held her hand out to help him. "Thanks…"

"What happened?" asked Grace, looking around. The question was soon repeated by Alfred as he ran over with Lily and Ben. "Uh… Well, Dad… for lack of a better analogy… there was a disturbance in the force…"

"Huh…" Alfred said, clearly uneasy still.

"Where's Melinda?" Arthur suddenly pointed out. "It shouldn't have taken her this long to put the cases in the basement…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Dragging the cases down into the basement, Melinda looked up as she heard her mother and sister chanting above her. She sighed a little, looking around the basement and seeing that there was a little bit of damage down there too.

But then she spotted it.

A window was open near the top of the basement wall, one that she hadn't seen before. She went over to it and tilted her head, listening carefully and hearing the sound of the ocean from outside it. Suspicious, she climbed up and screamed as she was pulled into the window by some unseen force. Flinching slightly as she landed on some rough wood, she looked up to see clear blue skies and felt a soft breeze flowing around her. Gasping slightly, she stood up and looked around – realising that she was on a large ship and in the far distance she could make out some docks she was almost certain they were heading for.

"Oh shit," she muttered, climbing down carefully and landing lightly on an oddly empty deck. She walked around the deck, taking in every detail and running her hand over the supple wooden banister. Then she realised what ship she was on. "Oh no…" she said, gasping slightly as a door nearby opened. She ducked behind some barrels, but was too slow – she'd been seen and the man who had found her was on her in seconds.

Melinda felt calloused hands grip her arms tightly and pin her against the nearest wall, and when she looked up she looked straight into her mother's deep green eyes. She showed him no fear, despite knowing that this version of Arthur could be deadly to her.

England glared down at her, pinning her against the wooden wall. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And how did you get on my ship?!"

"My name is Melinda," the girl said, knowing that half-truth would be better for her than whole truth. "I don't know how I got on your ship."

England's grip on her tightened. "Don't lie to me. I DON'T TOLERATE STOWAWAYS."

"I'm telling you the truth," Melinda said, not flinching but feeling a distinct pain in her arms. "I'm not a stowaway."

Still not believing her, England shifted back a little and took in her appearance – her peculiar clothes, her eyes, hair… Her hair. The cowlick that stuck up proudly in a way so familiar to him… "Who are you?" he asked, his voice slightly less harsh but no less intimidating.

"Melinda."

"Melinda what?!" he growled. "Do you have a surname?!"

"Jones."

"What?!" he shouted, looking into her eyes intensely.

She didn't blink. "My name is Melinda Jones."

"You're lying to me…" he said. "Tell me your name!"

"Melinda _Kirkland-_Jones…" Melinda sighed.

"MELINDA!"

Both looked up and saw Arthur, Melinda's Arthur, climbing down from the crow's nest – the older Brit rushing over to them and looking steadily at his younger-self. England's eyebrows furrowed as he scowled at Arthur, his grip still tight on Melinda's arms.

"Whatever she's told you is true," Arthur said. "What did you tell him…?"

"My name," Melinda said simply.

"What sorcery is this?!" England shouted, drawing the attentions back onto him. Arthur could tell that he was perplexed but the sudden appearance of himself and Melinda.

"Listen to me," Arthur said. "There is a time window above the crow's nest connected to a location on shore. I've had trouble with it before and covered it up, but some damage happened and reopened it." England took a moment but nodded his head, though he still held Melinda. "Let her go…"

Looking down at Melinda, England released her and took in the bruises that had already started to form on her pale arms. However, he stayed in front of her in a stand to stop her moving to his future self – he wanted more information and knew she was his only leverage. However, as he was about to ask another question, they were all distracted by the sight of more people climbing down from the crow's nest – Alfred and Grace were joining them with Lily and Ben.

"Dad?" said Melinda, covering her mouth quickly as the word left her mouth. England blinked and rounded on them again.

"Dad?!" he said, looking at Alfred. He strode over to him, allowing for the younger children to move over to Arthur with Grace – his focus was on the man taller than him but so familiar.

"I think you know who I am," Alfred said, pointing to his cowlick.

"Alfred…" England said. "What…?"

"She is my child," Alfred said as gently as he could. "As are they…"

"But… You're only four here…" England said. "You… Well, you've certainly grown up well…" He glanced over at Arthur and saw him holding Ben close to him, and knew (though not specifically) that there was definitely a stronger relation between them than an uncle. "I'm going to kick my crew back into action," he said. "I'm visiting Alfred today so I can take you to the mainland but you're on your own as I have business to attend to."

Watching him stride away, Arthur handed Ben back to Alfred and moved over to Melinda – pulling her close, her held the back of her head and hugged her before looking over her arms.

"Are you okay, Baby?" he asked quietly. She nodded. "Talk to me."

"I'm so sorry," she muttered. "I didn't mean for this to happen…"

"Shhh," Arthur said, glancing over his shoulder at the rest of his family as they watched Melinda hide her face against him. "None of us blame you… We never told you about the window in the basement and we should have just in case. It's not your fault."

"We can get back by finding the window again," Alfred smiled. "At my house. The one up there is no use once everyone is through. So that means you lot get to see mini me!"

"Cool!" Lily giggled. Ben laughed and held onto Alfred. Grace smiled at Melinda reassuringly so the girl nodded.

"Okay."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Keeping out of the way, the family watched from the side lines as various members of the crew did their jobs on deck – some of the confused as to why there was another version of their captain on board but avoiding him out of the fear England had instilled in them.

Melinda couldn't sit still though, so wandered up to the main deck where England was stood behind the wheel of the ship navigating their course.

"What do you want, Melinda?" said England before she could even open her mouth.

"I get bored easily," Melinda shrugged, looking at him and the map beside him. "Also, I was curious to see if you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" questioned England, barely glancing her way.

"Because a group of people just climbed down from the crow's nest from the future…" Melinda said. "It's enough to give even the most open people a headache."

"I'm not most people," England said, looking down at his map. "Seeing that you are apparently my daughter, I'd have thought you'd know that."

"I do," Melinda smirked. "That's why I said 'open people'."

England shot her a glare for her insolence but did nothing more. With a sigh, he shook his head. "You've got guts, I'll give you that," he said. "I've known only one other person to look me straight in the eyes with no fear, and she's a pain in the neck too. I'm not sure if it's because I'm your… mother… but…"

"Oh God no," Melinda laughed. "I'm just thick. I'm more scared of you as a parent than I am Dad but you're the one I'm closest too."

England's lips flicked into a slight smile. "Well, I'm glad we made a brave child."

Melinda watched him walk away to get his crew ready to dock, glancing down at Arthur and the others as they sat down. Arthur was watching his 17-year-old self walk off but then looked up at Melinda curiously. He smiled though when he saw the smile on her face, standing as she joined them as the ship pulled into port.

"As I said, I have business to attend to," England said, striding back over to them. "But you should know where you can find transportation."

"I do," Arthur nodded, holding Ben. He made sure Lily was holding Alfred's hand before following his younger self down onto the docks. Melinda walked behind them, looking at Grace as the younger twin tagged along with her.

"Why is it always you?" she asked, Melinda shrugging and shaking her head. Grace chuckled a little and shook her head. "At least nothing else can possibly go wrong."

_**Notes:**_

**Well, I am slowly figuring out my notes on this again XD**

**Twist of twist, my friends. Oh how I love having escapades into the past. And if you can't figure out who England is talking about read the last chapter and you'll get the answer :)**

**I'll be referring to past!Arthur and (of course) past!Alfred as England and America to keep it less confusing.**

**Please review and stuff because it means a lot :) I will see you next chapter and for those of you who read my other stories, I will see you in the next chapter of Reputation!**


	9. The Hunt for Home

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Nine**

**The Hunt for Home**

Grace was very pleased to see that the transport that they would have to take to get from the docks to Alfred's home was a horse drawn carriage. She smirked a little at Melinda the entire time, the oldest girl holding onto Arthur's hand tightly as she hated horses more than any other animal on Earth. She got daggers shot back at her in response, each holding a silent message from Melinda: _I'd be fine if you hadn't have aggravated that stallion…_

Within 30 minutes, the family had arrived outside Alfred's home – the American smiling at it fondly as he lifted Ben out of the carriage.

"This is what my house is supposed to look like!" he grinned, letting the little boy look up at the large building. Ben grinned and clapped his hands together in approval, blinking and making a small "oh" noise as the carriage was pulled away once more and the horses disappeared from sight.

"I wonder where you are, Dad," Grace said, walking in through the front gate into the large front garden. She smiled fondly at all the familiar flowers that still grew in her father's garden even in their time, plus some that she knew must have died off before their time.

"I have no idea," Alfred said, looking up at the house. He grinned as he saw the front door open, a tiny version of himself tottering outside with a curious expression on his chubby face.

"Awww!" Lily giggled, despite the child being roughly the same age as her. Hearing the coo, America blinked and looked over at them – his shiny blue eyes widened as they rested on Arthur and a bright grin burst onto his face.

"Arthur!" he called out, running over to him. Arthur smiled and crouched down to hug him, grinning as the little boy latched onto him and giggled. "Arthur, you came back! Who are they and why are you all dwessed funny?"

"This is my family," Arthur smiled, setting the little boy down on the grass again so he could look up at them all.

"Family?" gaped America, looking at them all in turn before looking at Alfred. He had to crane his neck back slightly to look all the way up at his older counterpart, but soon he saw the familiar cowlick. "You're…"

"That's right," Arthur smiled. "He's you."

America watched as Alfred crouched down and winked at him, giggling a little but then looking at him seriously. "You're weally tall… but I'm weally little…"

"You'll have a growth spurt," Arthur chuckled.

"So, you're all fwom the future?" America said, looking between them.

Nodding, Arthur was a little taken aback by the child's observation – being too used to Alfred's current behaviours to remember that he had once actually been rather astute at picking things up. "We are."

"So who are they?" he said, pointing to each child.

"These are my children," Arthur said, thinking it best for now not to let the child know his future-self had fathered them. Alfred smiled and nodded. "This is Melinda, Grace, Lily and Ben."

"Cool," America giggled. His expression saddened though. "So if you're fwom the future… that means my Arthur isn't here…"

"He'll be along soon," Arthur smiled. "He had some business to attend to, but he won't be too long." His smile softened as America's face lit up with pure happiness, the boy jumping up and down in excitement at the prospect of finally seeing him Arthur again.

"YAY!" he grinned, looking around at them all. "You have funny coloured eyes," he said, looking at Grace. "They're like the sea but I don't see it that often cos Arthur told me not to go near the port."

"Thanks, I think," Grace chuckled.

"And your eyes are just like Arthur's!" the child grinned, pointing at Melinda. "Only yours are prettier."

"Hey!" Arthur laughed.

"Her eyes are girly," America giggled, smiling at him cutely. "That's why they're pretty."

"I guess I can't argue with that," Arthur said, smiling at his oldest child who blushed brightly. They all looked round when they heard a horse trotting up the street, America grinning brightly as he saw England's familiar feathery hat over the top of everyone else. He waited though, letting the other's move out of the way as England got off of the horse and tied it's reigns to the fencing before walking through the front gate.

"ARTHUR!" he cried, running over to the pirate as the taller crouched down and held his arms open for the child.

"Alfred," England smiled, falling backwards from the force of America's hug. He chuckled though and hugged him back, grinning down at the child as he nuzzled close.

"You came to visit me!" America smiled.

"Of course I did," England replied. "I would have been here sooner but I have very important things to do back in England."

"S'okay!" giggled the child. "The future people were weally nice to me while we waited! One of the girls has pretty eyes like yours!"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Because of the length of the journey by boat, it was nearly sunset when they had all arrived at the house of the little American colony. So, after England (with a lot of help from Melinda) made them some supper, the younger children were far too tired from all the excitement that had happened that day – Lily, Ben and America all falling asleep soon after they had finished eating.

"If you wanted to rest up before searching for your way home then that's okay," England said, smoothing his hand gently over America's head as the child slept against him. Arthur nodded his agreement but looked around and noticed that Melinda wasn't in the room anymore. Neither was Grace.

"Where did those two go?" he asked, looking at Alfred who shrugged his shoulders. The 3 nations stood with the younger children to go search, but needed no further cue than the twins screaming in living room. They ran to find out what the matter was, seeing the girls shaking on the floor near the fireplace.

"What happened?" England asked. "You two look as though you have just seen a ghost."

"The… the man from my dreams as a kid…" Melinda stuttered. "He… He… He was in the fireplace…"

"We were looking for a way out of here and he just popped out of nowhere!" Grace said, helping Melinda up as she stood.

"We need to go find that window…" Arthur said. Without further explanation to his confused younger counterpart, he walked away with Alfred and the kids to look around the house for any sign of the second window – that man had been the first ghost that had attacked Arthur and Alfred all those years ago, the pair figured; he hadn't been defeated back in that era, he was still lingering around before his very first attack…

But no matter where they searched, they couldn't find the door back to their world just yet – realising that they had to go through the same as they had done in the past and resigned themselves to having to spend the night in the haunted house…

Walking back to where England was sat now in the living room, they looked at him and shook their heads solemnly. Sighing, England stood and looked at them.

"Like I said, you can stay here for the night," he said. However, he blinked as a ringing sound started in Melinda's pocket. "What the devil is that?"

"Uh…" muttered Melinda, pulling out her mobile phone and turning it to silent. Arthur looked at her in total surprise.

"How the bloody hell do you have signal?" he almost squawked.

"I did mention that I could light half the globe permanently if hooked up to the national grid, right?" Melinda said, glancing at Arthur. "I assume like my natural charger, I have super signal boost."

"Who is it then?" smirked Grace. "As if we can't all guess though."

As she poked her tongue out at her sister, England was amused by the deep blush that had spread across Melinda's cheeks.

"It's Marco…" she muttered.

"Who's Marco?" asked England, choosing to ignore the odd technology before him in favour of his curiosity of Melinda's behaviour. "That name doesn't sound entirely English…"

"Times change," Melinda said quickly. "He's my boyfriend. Can we all go to sleep now?"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

As usual, Melinda was the first one awake the next morning – but this time was because of a strange phenomenon she could feel chilling her entire body. It was like there was a continual breeze blowing against the back of her neck and anywhere that could pick up her pulse, chilling her all over.

She looked around when Grace walked into the room, shuddering as a harder breeze hit her. The younger twin looked at her sister and rolled her eyes, continuing her search for tea.

"Your hair's moving," she said in a bored tone.

"I keep feeling a breeze on the back of my neck," Melinda said. "Like someone's blowing on me…"

"Hmmm…" Grace said, rummaging around until she found what she was after. "I'd ask you if you wanted some tea but that's be a waste of breath."

"Ah…" Melinda winced, feeling a chill shoot straight up her spine. Her hands were shaking, but she forced a smile to her face as America walked into the room and headed straight over to her despite Grace offering him some warm milk. She blinked as he took hold of her hand and all but dragged her out of the kitchen, his face worried as the chill followed her to the living room.

Laying under the covers of their makeshift bed on the floor, Alfred and Arthur looked round and sat up as America took Melinda over to them.

"Feel her!" he squeaked. "She's fweezing!"

Shifting slightly, Alfred placed his hand on Melinda's forehead. "You're… ice cold…" he said, helping her sit down on the floor. Arthur put some covers over her lap, glancing at Grace as the girl came into the living room looking a lot more awake now she had had her tea.

"I… I kept feeling something blowing on my neck…" Melinda stuttered, shivering violently. "… And touching my neck…" She blinked as she heard a click before feeling another blanket drape around her shoulders, looking at Grace with slight anger. "Oh. Now you show concern?"

"You know it takes a while for my brain to kick in when I first wake up…" Grace said, looking at her pale sister apologetically.

"You were awake enough to find bloody tea and joke about me not liking it, but when I said about this you acted bored!" Melinda snapped.

"I'm hardwired for tea when I wake up… You know this…" Grace said, blinking and holding her hands up in defence as Melinda glared at her. "Sorry…" she muttered, walking out of the room again.

"Gwace! It's the ghost doing it!" America yelped, but the girl ignored him. He pouted and looked at Melinda, watching as she took a deep breath as the ghost left her – the damage done. It took a little while, but Melinda was finally at a comfortable temperature again.

"_I'm sorry_," she said to Grace in their heads. But she was ignored. She focused more and tried to hear anything from Grace from the haze of noise she could make out, but gasped slightly as she heard a low chuckle. "No…" she said, getting to her feet and running outside before anyone could stop her. She was being sent flickers of images in her mind – the woods, bushes, the lake… She ran, aware that Arthur and Alfred were hot on her tail, but gasped as the air was stolen from her body – falling to her knees, she looked up at her parents as they came to halt beside her.

"Go!" she shouted. "She's in the lake!"

"Shit…" Arthur uttered, running in the direction of the lake as fast as he could. He dove into the water as soon as he reached the edge, swimming as fast as he could to the bottom where he saw Grace unconscious and tangled in the weeds. Retrieving his wand, he sent a severing spell towards the weeds and freed his second oldest daughter; dragging her to the surface where he found Alfred stood at the edge of the lake in a panic. "Help me!"

"Oh God," Alfred said, pulling Grace out of the water and lying her down on the ground before pulling Arthur out too. They crouched beside the younger twin, Arthur giving her CPR and praying that she coughed up whatever water had made its way into her lungs. Soon enough, Grace gasped and started to cough up the water, looking up at her parents in confusion.

"What happened…?" she asked, looking between them.

"What do you remember?" Alfred inquired.

"I left the living room because Melinda shouted at me… then I woke up with a lung full of water…" Grace responded.

"Well, it seems you came out here and dived into the lake," Alfred said, looking to Arthur for any more input from what he had witnessed.

"You were tangled in the weeds at the bottom, but they were… knotted around you," the Briton said, glancing back at the lake with distaste.

"Can we go home now…?" Grace muttered.

"We're trying our best, Baby," Alfred said, kissing her head. "We're trying…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Apologising to her sister properly this time, Melinda watched a shaken Grace went into the living room with the rest of their family plus America to relax and calm down. She felt guilty watching her sister – knowing that in some way she too was responsible for the state she was in.

Not wanting to intrude on the comfort that Grace was receiving, Melinda walked back out into the garden and sat down on the grass away from the woods. She sighed softly and tugged at the grass, pulling some out and letting it float away in the breeze.

"Perfect direction to escape."

Jumping slightly, Melinda looked up as England walked over and sat beside her on the grass awkwardly. "Why are you out here?" she asked quietly.

"I wondered where you'd disappeared to…" he replied, not looking at her and failing at the nonchalant tone he was trying to produce.

Melinda smiled a little though. "It's not uncommon for me to wander off."

"It's not safe for girl like you to be wandering around here on your own," England said, Melinda having to silence herself as she knew it was just the mentality of the time period. She knew it wasn't safe for any of them…

"I know…" she muttered after a moment.

"…Good…" England replied.

"Not really…"

"It is because then you will be more conscious," he said.

"Right," Melinda said, laughing ironically.

"What's really wrong, Melinda?"

"Why do you care?"

"So, just because I am a 'blood thirsty pirate' I cannot show concern for someone?" questioned England, looking at her finally.

Melinda rolled her eyes and shook her head. "The reason I know it's not safe out here is because I've already gone through the worst things out there." She pulled her shirt down ever so lightly and showed him the top of her scar. "It goes across my torso to my left hip…"

"Who… what did that?" demanded England. Knowing that Arthur wouldn't remember any of this, Melinda confided in England about everything that had happened – from the first attack on her to all the tenseness recently with the coma.

"Well, there were two ghosts really…" she said. "William was a helper at first… To the guy Grace and I saw the other night… But the first ghost attacked…"

"Attacked what?"

"Uh…"

"Tell me, Melinda."

"He and William attacked Dad…" she said in a quiet voice.

"What?!"

"When he was seven like me…" Melinda continued. "William gave me the same wounds he did Dad… Dad's got lots of scars… He tough though…" England nodded slowly, his expression hard. "Mum sang me a lullaby to take the dreams away, but Dad was always the one who talked to me and helped me with the nightmares…"

"I can tell he is an attentive father," England said.

"He's the best, but he doubts himself a lot despite everything we tell him," Melinda smiled. "He just has this way of making us all smile without even trying. He's an idiot but that's what makes us smile; his unstoppable optimism. When he's talking at meetings he gets over the top but he believes everything he says and he does all he can to protect us. One time I got taken in San Francisco and he got me back safe. He's basically my hero. Of course, you've saved me plenty of times too. But I'm just a magnet for danger. You're the best."

"I doubt that," England chuckled.

"No really!" Melinda smiled. "I can talk to you about anything and you were surprisingly kinder to Marco than you were Grace's boyfriend."

"Who is this Marco?"

"My boyfriend."

"You know what I meant," England said.

"He's another nation," Melinda said.

"Why are you avoiding the subject?"

"His name is Marco… Carriedo-Vargas…" Melinda said, sighing a little.

"Carriedo…" England repeated.

"He's half Italian… half Spanish…" Melinda continued, watching England's eyes narrow darkly. "He's Antonio's son…"

"What?" he snapped, his voice deadly. Melinda watched as he silently seethed at the idea of his enemy's son touching his daughter, so rubbed her head and looked at her lap.

"He's saved me a lot too…" she said, distracting England from his anger. "He treats me like I'm made of glass, always has… He just makes me feel special. Marco can be an idiot sometimes, but he makes sure I'm happy. He loves me, and I love him back."

"Times must have changed if I've actually allowed you to see this boy," England said.

Chuckling, Melinda smiled at him. "Yeah, times have definitely changed," she said. England couldn't help but smile back, getting to his feet and holding his hand out to her. She took it, smiling as he pulled her up too and walked back into the house together.

England looked at Alfred when the American came into the kitchen to check where Melinda had gone, taking in all of his appearance – he noted how tall he had gotten, the tan to his skin and the fading scars that were visible. He tried not to think about the ones he couldn't see, but knew from just one glance that he was indeed an incredibly strong man now.

And though he was scared of the circumstance that could lead to the life he was seeing before him, just knowing that the child he could hear laughing in the living room would turn into a strong man and father took the edge away.

_**Notes:**_

**Yay! This is 3 days in a row! I'm sticking to my plan!**

**So much cutting and changing of my notes… Definitely at least one more chapter to go with the time travelling stuff – I remember a past review saying that I went too quickly with the time travelling one time so it's a tad prolonged this time :)**

**And Grace has finally had a taste of the constant shit Mel had XD Ah, gotta love it when twins share :D PLUS CUTE LIL AMERICA. **


	10. In Which Memories Never Cease

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Ten**

**In Which Memories Never Cease**

After having another awkward dinner together, Arthur went with the kids back to the living room – taking America with him as Ben was starting to cling to the other little boy. Deciding that it was impossible to stop her from wandering, England had started to look around the large house with Melinda for any sign of a way home for his future self and his family. Alfred was wandering around too, but was finding it increasingly difficult to find something to do as he was having very little luck with finding a way home…

What made matters worse for him was his increasing worries over Grace's behaviour. The girl was slowly isolating herself from the rest of the family, dismissing any comment made by himself or Melinda and leaving the room when more than two people were in it at the same time. He had watched her during dinner, keeping an eye on her body language.

She kept leaning away from anyone who got remotely close to her, slouching over her dinner plate and gingerly picking at the meal that Melinda had prepared for them. He could hear her fork scraping against the china plate as she tried to make the food look as though she had eaten more than she had – he said nothing though, knowing that bringing it up in front of everyone would only make her more agitated than she already was.

It was saddening him watching her get worse as the days went by – he knew that it had started the day that Melinda was first in the coma, after she had woken up and her older sister hadn't. He had tried to keep an eye on her as best he could, knowing that she had been blaming herself for the state Melinda was in – the memories of the 12 people she had murdered in cold blood 2 years prior must have been flooding through her mind as it was one of the things that he kept looking back on whenever he had looked at Melinda lying in the bed, the things the oldest child had confessed to him about her fears that Kali or Grace would kill her one day.

And he knew that Grace feared that she would one day be the death of her sister – and that had slowly started to come true.

With a sigh, he hauled himself up from the bed in the guest bedroom having decided to lay there for some peace and quiet for a little while – he had left the door open just in case someone, mainly Grace, wanted to come in and talk to him, but all he saw was Melinda walk past by herself with her phone in her hands taking photos. He walked over to the door and looked around the frame at the oldest girl, smiling as she took another pretty shot of the old chandelier that used to hang in the corridor.

"Hey Mel," he smiled, the girl looking around to her father and smiling softly.

"You okay, Dad?" she asked. "Have a nice nap?"

"I couldn't sleep," Alfred said, stepping out into the corridor. "I thought you were searching the house with Arthur's younger self?"

"He said he had something to do," said Melinda, shrugging her shoulders. She smiled at Alfred. "Besides, no windows can be found so I guess whatever lesson it was you said we may have to learn hasn't happened yet. It may just be one person though."

"I guess," Alfred said, thinking back to when he and Arthur had last had that experience. "Well, to get back from this time we learnt about my past and why the ghost targeted me. Then when the baby version of your Mom showed up it was dealing with the possibility of our own family. Then the middle ages and my revolution collided and I learnt about Arthur's past and he came to terms completely with why I did what I did… I just don't see what can be learnt now…"

"Well, it'll come to any one of us soon enough," Melinda smiled. "Don't worry too much, Dad." She walked over to him and kissed his cheek softly before heading off again, Alfred smiling and watching her wander off. Knowing that she was okay and happy cheered him up a little, and he knew that he had to try and pass on that happiness onto his other daughter.

Walking downstairs, he hopped around America as his younger self ran out of the living room to catch a ball Ben had apparently been able to throw and made his way to the kitchen. He paused as he got to the doorway, watching in slight confusion as he took in the sight.

England was sat beside Grace, both looking as though they were about to begin a personal conversation. England was the first to become aware of Alfred's presence, looking up at the taller man in slight awkward surprise – Grace however couldn't look at Alfred, choosing to focus on the hem of her skirt as she picked at the fabric.

"Well… I've clearly interrupted something…" Alfred said, looking at Grace. She turned away from him and kept her eyes on her skirt, surprising both England and Alfred. Apprehensively, England looked up at Alfred in an attempt to try and anticipate how the younger man was going to react to such a rejection.

"Alfred?" he said quietly, but he received a shake of the head in response. Watching as the American walked past them, he flinched slightly as the back door shut with a snap when Alfred made his way outside – looking at Grace who looked close to tears.

She flinched as they heard a loud bang, breaking and letting her tears flood out.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Jumping, Arthur looked round as the bang echoed through the house – the kids had yelped slightly, all of them confused as to what was going on. He saw Melinda run downstairs with a panicked expression on her face.

"Mel?"

"I just saw a tree collapse out in the forest, but Dad went out there looking far from happy…" she said.

"Alfred…" Arthur muttered, looking out of the living room window before turning to Melinda, silently asking her if she could watch the kids. She nodded so he wasted no more time and ran out of the building towards the woods – panic was setting into his system causing adrenaline to pump through his veins.

What would have caused that kind of bang? The tree falling wouldn't have made that kind of sound. It was combined with something else. He knew that the caves nearby had once been used in mining excavations but that shouldn't have been started for another century… There was always the first ghost floating around and causing havoc still in that era…

What if he had made the tree fall down? Magic against nature. The tree falling down onto Alfred and crushing him dead… Oh how he hoped that it wasn't that.

He was surprise when he came to the site though – Alfred was sat beside the tree with his head in his heads, a large purple and black bruise growing across the knuckles of his right hand. It was clearly broken, and from the looks of it… Alfred had literally punched the tree to the ground.

"Alfred…" he gasped, running over to him and dropping to his knees beside his husband. Looking up at him, Alfred's expression was blank and defeated, a shell of what he used to be and it broke Arthur's heart to see him in such a state. "Sweetheart… what's happened?"

"I can't do it, Arthur…" muttered Alfred, his voice breaking as he felt Arthur's hands gently brush through his hair and over his skin.

"Can't do what?"

"Be a Dad… I'm no good at it…"

Arthur closed his eyes for a moment and looked down. "Is this Grace again…?" he asked, no accusation in his tone, just sad curiosity. He nodded causing him to refrain from sighing. "Alfred, she is sixteen - she's not an open book like she was when she was lily's age… You know just as well as I do, if not better, and taking into account how the last nine years have affected her, it's no wonder she's closed off more than she would have normally."

"Damn it, Arthur, I KNOW THIS!" Alfred snapped, rubbing his eyes.

"And what is it I've always told you about Grace?"

"I don't know, Arthur; what have you always told me about Grace?"

"You need to stay by her," Arthur said, not liking Alfred's attitude. "Close enough so she knows you're there, but not close enough to make her feel crowed and trapped."

"What the fuck do you think I've been trying to do?!" Alfred said furiously, looking at Arthur angrily. He didn't like how Arthur was patronising him, talking down to him like a child. He knew all of this. He'd been doing all of this. "Nothing I ever do seems to do any fucking good!"

"But at a time like this, a certain amount of prodding his needed."

"Ha. Right."

"What do you suggest them?" Arthur said, sitting back and folding his arms.

" I. Don't. Know." Alfred snapped. "I think of all she's been through and my chest starts to hurt. I try to talk to her, or even in this case just walk into the room and she looks away... I just don't know anymore... I still feel bad, Arthur... I feel so bad and so sick and confused... I just want to tell her everything will be okay... That she's not as alone as she thinks she is... But each time I get pushed that bit further away and that pain starts to grown in my chest and my throat... It's suffocating and I feel so powerless..."

"Have you told her this?"

"How can I when I get pushed away?!"

"Have you tried talking to her after all of this?"

"I have tried! I try and try and try!"

"Then keep trying!" Arthur said.

"I WASN'T GOING TO STOP TRYING!" Alfred shouted.

"The moment you give up is when you lose her completely," Arthur continued, ignoring the anger from Alfred. "The problem this family has is that it bottles everything up and covers it with cloak pretending everything is fine until something cracks. This is exactly what grace is doing and you just need to find the bottle and open it."

"Hows about you try and talk to her once?" Alfred suggested. Arthur blinked, so he sighed and rubbed his head. "Sorry…"

"It's fine," Arthur said, smoothing his hand over his bruise to heal it. "I know you're still not feeling well which is why you shouldn't over exert yourself like this. We have one day until that second tornado arrives and time is moving forwards without us. I don't want to lose you in this time or any… So, go talk to her."

Alfred nodded, getting to his feet with him and heading back to the house together. He watched as Arthur made his way to the front of the house, but braced himself and opened the back door – walking into the kitchen he looked at Grace as she looked up at him, the pair alone in the room as England had gone to check on America. Sitting down beside her, Alfred looked at the kitchen table and told her all of how he'd been feeling – trying to show her that she wasn't the only one affected by things recently.

He looked at her as she rested her head on his shoulder, putting his arm around her as she started to talk.

Listening silently, Grace told him all about her insecurities around Melinda and the others – how she was terrified that she had damaged her relationships with everyone after what had happened, that Melinda could be putting up a front… But also how she was jealous of how Melinda had been able to get up from the incident after she had finally been healed and was getting on like it never happened, how she didn't seemed scarred by the events like she had. She spoke of how she wished she could have her attitude towards that period in her life, faltering slightly when she began to talk of the things she had seen inside her head thanks to Kali – how Kali had tortured her in her sleep with images of her bloodied siblings and friends, how she would make it seem as though the dream was real and she was slicing into everyone like she had done with those 12 gang members. She explained why she was isolating herself – she didn't want to hurt anyone else ever again and just being near her seemed to make people unhappy…

"You don't make us unhappy," Alfred said. Grace looked up at him about to argue but he gently covered her mouth. "Listen to me. You worry us, stress us out and scared us but you never make us unhappy. You're meant to worry us, we're meant to get stressed and scared for you. That's how parenting works, and one day whenever you have children you'll understand."

"There's more…" Grace said, her voice muffled by his hand. He let her go, looking at her carefully. "I miss Kali in some sick way… My head is just too empty with too little to fill the spaces… She was… company… As much as she was evil, it was… comforting in a way to hear her voice and know someone was there when she was telling me no one was… I'm getting over it now, but for a while that's how I felt."

"It's okay," Alfred said. "I get it. I do. So please. Just talk to me whenever you feel like it. I will drop everything to listen to you, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Grace said, hugging close to him. She closed her eyes tight and hugged close to him, trying to ignore the feel of the bandages beneath his shirt. But when she felt his warm arms embrace her, his comforting kiss press to the top of her head, she instantly calmed. He was still her father and she was still his daughter, no bloodshed or tears could ever change that.

_**Notes:**_

**Sorry I've been iffy with the updates again. It's been hectic here and I've been finding time to update.**

**Currently sleeping on the sofa until my room is put back together…**

**I'll leave you guys to pick up on things because reviews have been very thin in the water… So, yeah. **

**Thanks :)**


	11. Ready or Not

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Ready or Not**

The calm moment was soon interrupted as Alfred tensed and had a sharp intake of breath – Grace looking up at her father in concern and terror as she thought that the second tornado had arrived in their time sooner than they had been anticipating. Alfred's eyes closed and he took deep breaths, groaning a little as they opened once more and he looked round to the basement.

"Dad?" asked Grace in a tentative voice, looking up at him.

"Seems we were waiting for you…" Alfred said, chuckling breathlessly as he looked back at his second oldest daughter. She blinked, confused at his comment so he kissed her head and smiled at her. "You learnt something right?" She nodded. "That's what opens the window to send us back."

"It's opened?" Grace said. "But how do you know?"

"It's on my land and bringing me out of my timeline," Alfred smiled. "Of course I'd know."

"Fair enough," Grace chuckled, getting to her feet as he did the same. They walked around to the living room, looking at the worried faces that turned their way – both of them knowing that the rest of the family plus the past people had been sat fretting over them that whole time. They all relaxed visibly as the saw the smiles on their faces, Arthur getting to his feet with a sleeping Ben in his arms.

"The door's opened," Alfred said, picking Lily up as the little girl ran over to him. She kissed his cheek and giggled, Alfred nudging her cheek with his nose and making her giggle more. Melinda grinned and got to her feet too, smiling at England and America – the latter of which looked far from happy that they were going home again.

"What's that look for?" she smiled, tickling his cheek as he clung to England. The older watched them carefully, smiling softly at Melinda's naturalness with children. "It's not like you're never gonna see us again, is it?"

"I guess not…" America said, thinking about it for a moment before smiling at her. "Okay, then! Go and I'll see you soon!"

"Yeah you will," she chuckled, kissing his cheek before walking over to her family. She smiled up at Alfred and winked at him, her father chuckling and kissing her head. Alfred led them out of the house and round into the back garden, pointing down to the window that had appeared on the side of the building near the ground – it was thin and rectangular, but large enough for even Alfred to be able to climb through it. He climbed inside first just in case, looking around at the damages left by the tornado that had yet to be repaired – and though he sighed softly at the amount of damages that he had come back to he was pleased at the same time.

"It's alright," he called up through the window, reaching up and helping Lily inside next, then Ben before moving out of the way as Grace came inside, followed by Melinda and finally Arthur. He smiled at them, before looking around the room and sighing once again. It was difficult for him to see his house in such as state after spending so many days in the past where it was large and gleaming as it should be...

Sensing his husband's distress, Arthur moved over to him and kissed him softly, looking up at him and smiling softly. "Alfred, why don't you take Ben and sit in the garden with Lily and Melinda? Save you get hurt anymore, and Grace and I can rebuild the house as we had planned."

"Okay," Alfred said, shifting Ben in his arms slightly and walking out from the basement with the girls – heading out of the ruins of his home and out into the clear grass area. He sat down and set Ben down to sleep on the grass, lying down himself in an attempt to try and ease the aching in his chest – he was starting to get tight chested again, a sign that the tornado was certainly a lot closer than they had thought it was.

As Melinda kept an eye on the children for her father, Ben started to wake up – shifting on the grass, he yawned and rolled onto his back, blinking at the new light and different surroundings. "Mummy?" he said, blinking over at Melinda and giggling. "Mel!"

"Hey, Buddy," she smiled. "You have a nice nap."

Ben nodded, giggling again as he looked round and saw Alfred lying on the floor. He crawled over to him and looked over the top of his head, Alfred opening his eyes as they were shadowed by his son. Chuckling, he grinned as Ben leant down and kissed his forehead – a gummy kiss with a hint of dribble – lifting the boy up above him before bringing him down to his lap as he sat up again.

Looking at the oldest child, Alfred tilted his head as he watched her picking at her thumbs again. "Are you okay?"

"I… I've been keeping something secret," she admitted. "For a few days, actually… It's nothing bad, but it's been something I've been trying to control before revealing."

"And do you have control?"

"Near enough, yes…"

"Well, wait for your mom and sister and then tell us," Alfred smiled, patting her shoulder. Melinda looked at him and smiled, looking over at the house and watching as the last of the destruction was reversed – the grand old building standing tall and proud once more. She picked at her thumb again as she saw them walking over to them, smiling despite the nervous ache she felt in the pit of her stomach.

"Why do you look so guilty?" Arthur asked, stopping beside them. He looked between Melinda and Alfred, giving them an expression that said 'tell me now or I will assume the worst'.

"Melinda has been keeping something a secret from us all," Alfred shrugged, looking at his daughter as she stood up and nodded.

"I have…" she said, taking in Arthur's surprised expression and retuning it with one that she hoped would show him that it was nothing bad. "Please… just trust me for a moment, okay?"

"…Okay…" Arthur said hesitantly, an action that hurt Melinda but didn't deter her. Taking a deep breath, she looked towards a small shrub on the edge of the woods beside them and aimed, flicking her hands at it quickly. Before their eyes, and causing them all to jump, the small shrub spontaneously combusted into thousands of pieces – no fire, just complete destruction. But at the same time, as a piece went flying towards them, Melinda flicked her hands in a different way – causing a large blue light to appear in front of them, shimmering and transparent. The debris hit the light and got sent flying off into the distance again – and when Melinda got rid of it again, she could barely look at her family as they stared at the spot where it had disappeared in total shock.

"Well… that would have been helpful 9 years ago…" Grace said, deadpanned as she looked at her sister.

"That was pretty cool," Alfred said, grinning a little. "What was that last thing? Light, metal, what…?"

"I have no idea really," Melinda said, smiling a little at their openness now that the initial shock had worn off. "I think that it's more of a force than anything, like some kind of energy just building together and creating a shield. I've seen other mages back in Atlantis be able to create them for a short period of time, but they aren't as powerful as the ones that I can produce."

"That's because you're basically hooked to their main grid," Grace chuckled. "God, can we just run the house off of that crystal of yours?"

"I could run half the globe for the rest of the Earth's existence," Melinda smiled. Looking down, Melinda watched as Ben played with a toy that had been blown out into the garden; grinning a little as she made a small forcefield around it and lifted it up out of his reach. Blinking a little, Ben made a discontented noise as he tried to reach it – pausing for a moment before getting shakily to his feet. They watched him as he tried to get it, wondering whether he really would start to walk any moment but as he wobbled Melinda returned the toy to him and kissed his head.

"So close, Buddy," she grinned, Ben poking his tongue out at her and holding the toy close to him. "You're too cute."

Making their ways back inside to try and get some rest after their long days, Arthur watched Alfred carefully as the American paused in the living room doorway and held his chest. His eyes closed as he started to take deep breaths, the twins making sure that Lily and Ben were distracted from whatever pain their father was trying to overcome at that moment. Arthur made his way over to him again, holding his cheek softly and smoothing the skin soothingly.

"Love, what's the matter…?" he asked, not knowing if he really wanted to hear the answer.

"I… can't… breathe…" Alfred gasped, falling to his knees. Yelping slightly in shock, Arthur helped Alfred over to the sofa so that he could lie down, glancing out the window at the darkening sky and the increasing wind.

"Oh no…" he muttered, glancing at the kids. Grace and Melinda looked out of a different window, getting full sight of the tornado heading for them in the distance.

"Mum…" Grace said, looking round at Arthur as he tended to Alfred. "I think we should move to the basement…"

Arthur shook his head though. "I can't move him," he said. "He just… he just can't move… It's like the storm has just paralysed him and made him dead weight…"

"What do you suggest we do?" Melinda asked suddenly, looking round at her mother. "Dad can't go anywhere fast and you two are barely standing from restoring the house just now!"

"I don't know!" Arthur snapped, gritting his teeth to keep himself calm. "What do you suggest we do, Melinda?"

Looking at him for a moment longer, Melinda ran out of the living room and out into the front garden, wincing slightly as the wind started to get to a force so strong that it burned her eyes. Closing them, she took a deep breath and held her arms out feeling the wind die off as she created a shield large enough to protect their house and the area around Alfred's heart.

She lost track of time as she stood there with the force of the tornado slamming against her, her nose was starting to bleed from the force of the magic from within her head. As soon as she felt the storm pass, she brought the shield down and shook for a moment before collapsing to the ground.

Inside, Arthur kept pressing a cloth to Alfred's forehead as the American winced and groaned at the tornado tearing through the damage created by its sister. He could see blood seeping through the bandages as old wounds reopened, but could do nothing for him during those moments. He was distracted for a moment as a bright blue light shone from outside – he looked out of the window out at his daughter as she held back the storm, glancing at his other children as Grace held them close to her.

As soon as it was over and Alfred was breathing normally again, he left Grace to heal up the bleeding wounds on his chest and ran out into the front garden. As he stood on the porch, his heart dropped as he saw Melinda slumped on the ground like a marionette cut of its strings. He didn't want to go back into that time of her coma, the sheer terror of not knowing whether she was going wake up ever again.

Running over to her as fast as he could, he dropped to his knees and turned her over so she was cradled on his lap – holding her close and kissing her head, he smoothed her hair out of her eyes and smiled down at her in relief as they opened and she looked up at him weakly.

"You're an idiot…" he said, hugging her tightly and letting his face hide against her hair. "A bloody idiot, you know that right?"

"Thanks, Mum…" she replied, smiling a little as she turned her head slightly to lean on his chest.

"Don't ever do that to me again, you hear me?" he said, rocking with her gently.

"I couldn't… watch anyone… get hurt… or anything…" she said, nuzzling him. He pressed a firm kiss to her head again, looking down at her as she smiled up at him. However, he noticed something.

"Can… can't you breathe well?" he asked. She shook her head, taking a deep breath. "I'm taking you to the hospital…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

An hour or so later, Arthur returned from the hospital with Melinda – his arm around her to keep her close to him. He went inside with her, looking into the living room to see Alfred lying on the sofa with Ben on his stomach, Lily on the floor playing and Grace playing piano. They looked up as the pair walked into the room, Grace continuing to play at the same time.

Melinda sat in a seat and crossed her legs on the cushion, playing with the brown paper bag in her hands. Arthur moved over to her and took it away, setting it in sight of her but far enough away that she wouldn't play with it anymore.

"What's going on?" Alfred asked, a little too sore to sit up properly.

"Melinda's got severe asthma," Arthur said, blinking as Grace's fingers slipped on the piano keys.

"What's that?" Lily asked.

"It's a disease that makes it hard for her to breathe," Alfred said, looking over to Melinda.

"And my case is… pretty bad…" she said, sighing a little. "I brought it on myself though…"

"You did that saving us," Alfred said. "Saving me… Don't be put down by this."

Melinda nodded but looked at her lap. "Actually, the doctor said – from looking at my notes – that this was the final straw for my body because of that coma. My lungs just… didn't heal as they should have and the pressure from the tornado just… pushed them overboard…" she said, blinking as Lily went over and climbed onto her lap. She hugged her little sister and kissed her head, smiling at the rest of her family – Grace looked slightly saddened by the news, Alfred was still weak but smiling at her softly, Ben grinned at her and Arthur smiled in a way that said 'we love you no matter what so stop panicking'.

So, she decided to believe them. For now.

_**Notes: **_

**Not much to say really.**

**Just glad to have my bed back again now. Spent pretty much all of yesterday putting things back in order again.**

**R&R would be lovely please.**

**Laters.**


	12. Falling in Slow Motion

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Falling in Slow Motion**

After all the children had gone or been put into bed, Arthur and Alfred stayed up and listened to the silence that had finally settled around the house after the news of Melinda's illness had created a surge of panic around the girl.

Alfred had been keeping a close eye on Arthur during the course of the afternoon and evening, watching how he slowly closed himself off away from everyone – he remained in the room, but he was distant and almost stoic; only smiling when he was smiled at or talked to. He was hiding away from everyone again, and Alfred knew that he had to break him out of that before he totally closed himself away from the children.

"Why don't we go to bed?" the American suggested, breaking Arthur out of his silent stare at the window. The older looked at him in surprise for a moment before regaining his composure and nodded his agreement.

"Good idea," he said quietly, getting to his feet and wandering upstairs before Alfred had even gotten to his feet. With a heavy sigh, Alfred followed Arthur up into the bedroom and closed the door behind them – stripping to his boxers as Arthur got into his pyjamas and getting into bed to wait for the tired Briton. Once Arthur was in bed, Alfred remained sitting up but put his arm around Arthur protectively, Arthur slumping into him a little and hiding his face by his bandaged chest.

"What's the matter, Arthur?" asked Alfred soothingly, smoothing his fingers through his companions golden locks. "You can talk to me."

"I'm fine," Arthur mumbled into Alfred's chest.

"Are you sure?"

"…No," Arthur responded. "Just… everything…"

Alfred shifted his hold on him slightly to a more protective one, as if shielding the Brit from the rest of the world. "Let it all out, Arthur," he demanded softly. "It's why I'm here."

Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Arthur kept his eyes locked onto Alfred's tanned bare arm as he tried to think of a nice way to phrase what he wanted to say. In the end though, he found that there was no cushioned way to reveal his feelings. "I don't want to be the one that always has to keep everything together…"

Blinking as it wasn't entirely what he had been expecting Arthur to come out with, Alfred looked down and swallowed thickly. "I… I'm so sorry, Arthur…"

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for; it's not your fault. I know you have a lot on your mind at the moment so you shouldn't have to deal with this but... I'm just..." Arthur said. He had looked up at Alfred to show that he really wasn't blaming him, but by the end of the sentence his gaze had returned to his arms. "Just forget I said anything…"

"No, Arthur," Alfred said, worry laced throughout his tone. "Tell me… I'm not the only one that has been dealing with stuff at the moment so just talk to me!"

"It's hard for me to explain..." Arthur said, closing his eyes to shut everything else out. He wanted to just focus on his words right now. "I don't want to always be the one consoling everyone and pretending everything's going to be okay but I'd feel useless if I was on the other end…"

Alfred closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the top of Arthur's head. "I'm sorry… I promise I'll do my best so you don't feel that way anymore…" he said quietly. "It'll be easier now that all that ghost stuff is over, but with everything happening like the tornadoes and Mel's asthma… I'll do my best." Arthur nodded, his throat feeling constricted. "It's my turn now. I've poured my heart out to you in the past and you listened. Now it's your turn. Please, don't keep it all bottled up because we both know how bad that can be."

"I can't burden you with everything like this…" Arthur said, shaking his head. "It's not fair, Alfred…"

"Arthur," the American said sternly, surprising the smaller man. "You deal with everything every day. It's no burden because if you can't talk to me, then who can you talk to?"

"I've managed so far," Arthur said, looking up at him and attempting a good humoured smile. Unfortunately, it turned into more of a grimace.

"Arthur, please…!" Alfred begged, looking at him sadly. "You're not alone! This is why I am here! For better or for worse…"

"I know… I know I'm not alone; you've made sure of that…"

"Then why won't you talk to me?"

"It's just not something I do…"

"Damn it, Arthur!" Alfred cried. "It's not healthy! I… How can I help you if you won't let me in?" He watched as Arthur opened and closed his mouth before looking down once more. "Don't you trust me?"

His head snapping up quickly, Arthur's eyes widened as he looked into Alfred's disheartened cerulean and shook his head quickly. "No… No, Alfred, that's not it at all! I trust you more than anyone!"

"Cos I know I can't read the atmosphere well and I've said some insensitive things in the past... but I need you to know that you can trust me with anything! I just... I..." Alfred babbled before being cut off by Arthur as he held his face.

"Alfred look at me..." said Arthur softly, the American looking into Arthur's eyes properly. "Of course I trust you. In fact, I trust you more than I do myself - but this is something completely different," he paused and began to smooth his cheeks softly, "I prefer to deal with my own problems; it's not that I don't want you involved rather I don't want you to go out of your way to help with such a trivial matter like my problems."

"But if it's bothering you then I want to help…" Alfred said. "Even if it's just listening to you…"

"I know, Alfred," Arthur said, smiling a little. "And that's one of the ever increasing reasons why I love you."

"Then. Talk. To. Me."

Arthur looked at him then closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. "…I… I guess it's…" before he could get out the rest of his sentence, his voice broke and his eyes watered, clouding his vision. Alfred held him closer and kissed his head, making soothing sounds to encourage him to continue talking. "I've nearly lost you all so many times! Every time I think we're all safe something else happens! Whether it's you or the girls… and now ben that's left worrying thinking that it's all going to end badly, I can't deal with you all looking so lost or upset or useless so I push my own fear and panic to the back of my mind and say everything is going to be okay because I don't know if I can let it be anything else..."

"None of us are going anywhere, Arthur," Alfred said, running his fingers through his hair. "I promise you. Even if another tornado hits us, I'll keep strong for you. Ben is going to be just fine. He has so many people looking out for him; we won't lose him..." he paused and put his hand on Arthur's stomach to refer to the son they had lost before Ben, "Lily may get upset from time to time, but she is so independent and strong. She's coped with so much and is still smiling. Grace just needs time to adjust, but she is going to be fine too! She has nothing but herself in her head and she's just a bit temperamental at the moment because she's not used to it. And Mel... Well, we both know she can cope with anything. She is a hell of a lot braver than I am and this is just another bump in the road for her. Everything will be fine."

"Oh, Grace..." Arthur said in a hushed tone. "None of that would have happened if I had kept myself in check... If I had known that amount of stress and trouble I'd cause her I'd have never even transformed back then… And Melinda… She's dealt with more than she should have already and there's nothing I can do to stop anything else from troubling her. Lily is still only a baby; she hasn't even started school yet! William should have been sorted before they were all even born but we couldn't even do that! It was the girls that ended up sorting out our mess just like everything else in this world... But for Ben... I will put him in a bubble if it means that if the past comes back to haunt us again he won't be affected. I'm sure the girls will agree with me because that little boy deserves to know nothing of the trouble this family has gone through and I want it to stay like that…"

"There will come a day when he starts asking questions like why Mel and I have similar scars, and we will have to answer him," Alfred replied. "We can't keep him totally sheltered from our pasts forever, because if anything were to happen when weren't around he would have no idea how to deal with something like that. Even if the girls are with him, it's better for him to know and be able to protect himself than for the knowledge to be kept from him and everything gets repeated again. I wish I had told the girls about William in those seven years before Melinda was taken – maybe if I had, she would have stayed away from William and none of this would have happened. Maybe she would have still been hurt but she wouldn't have been so far away from us or put into such a situation. Grace wouldn't have caused the cave in and her Kali wouldn't have been brought into the world. But what if's are not going to help us anymore, are they? We don't have to worry more than usual anymore though, do we? Nothing is going to happen. Kali was sent into Stone and though she may have overridden everything that was once him and has a body of her own now, she was locked up so tightly into that sanatorium that there is no chance of her ever escaping. Nothing is going to hurt Ben except grazed knees falling off of his bike or playing soccer! Everything is going to be as normal as we can make it, and I will do my best to make sure that happens. The girls, Ben, us... We are all going to be fine. Maybe the odd natural disaster but that's just what happens to us. They'll be fine."

"Football," Arthur said in a slightly petulant tone. "But, yeah…"

Alfred poked his tongue out at him, smiling softly. "Just to prove my point and because I love you so much, in 16 years with everything nice and happy I'll ask you to marry me again."

Arthur chuckled. "Is this going to be a thing now?" he asked with a genuine smile. "Every 16 years you'll ask me to marry you again?"

"Yes," Alfred grinned, pressing a kiss to his jaw."

"Thank you, Alfred," Arthur said quietly.

"I love you so much, Arthur," Alfred smiled, smoothing the Brit's pink cheek. "Nothing will ever change that. Not time travel, or ghosts, or amnesia, or anything else that has ever happened to us." He took Arthur's left hand and placed it over the little 'x' scar on his chest. "This if forever yours and that will always stay the same," he said, watching as Arthur teared up. "If I ever get separated from you, I will do everything in my power to get back to you. Nothing will stop. I love you more than I have anything else, but nothing will happen anymore because I will do everything I can to protect us. You are my world and nothing will keep me from you."

Tears gently slid down Arthur's face as Alfred finished talking, and for a moment he forgot about all the bandages and bruises on his husband in favour of throwing himself at him and clinging to him as he sobbed against his neck. Alfred winced slightly but held Arthur close, threading his fingers into the hair at the back of his head and smoothing the base of his back softly.

It took some time for Arthur to calm down after that, but after he had Alfred kept him close and settled them down in bed – Arthur kept his hold on Alfred though, resting his head above the American's heart and listening to the soft steady beat which eventually lulled him to sleep.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The next day came reeling to Arthur as he stayed as close as he could to Alfred at random moments – it was just to feel his warmth and compassion as he had done so the night before, only leaving him to get ready for the world meeting that was scheduled for the day.

He watched from a distance as Alfred got all the papers he would need for the meeting – he was the host country again and had a lot of pressure put upon him thanks to the recent tornadoes. He had been getting calls all morning from the other nations as they made their way to his country about whether it was safe, where should they stay and various other stuff that he knew Alfred was getting tired of repeating.

After taking a slow drive to keep Alfred calm, the family arrived in New York where the meeting was being held and walked into the hotel building that was being used for the conference – it had been emptied of guests so that the nations could stay there if they wished but everything about why they were there and who they really were was being kept totally secret; after 9/11, it was thought best for the safety of the world not to reveal that the personifications of the countries were going to be in the same building at the same time. Anyone could try and end the world with one single device.

As they walked into the first function room which would hold the meeting, Arthur grimaced as Lily giggled at the only person in the room before them – not liking that she was fond of who that person was.

"You're early, Francis?" he asked with heavy sarcasm, watching as the Frenchman stood and made his way over to them. "Didn't have some hook to sleep in with?"

"Censorship, Arthur," Alfred said, rolling his eyes a little.

"Oui oui, Arthur, always with the joke telling…" Francis said, rolling his eyes also. He smiled at Melinda warmly though and gave her a hug. "Ah, Belle, it is such a relief to see you standing."

"Thanks, Uncle Francis," Melinda replied, hugging him back. She figured that a lot of the nations had been made aware of what had happened to her over the past few months.

Francis kissed her head then looked at the other, his eyes resting on Ben who was watching him curiously. "And who is this handsome young man?"

"Ben," the little boy giggled.

"Well, aren't you a cute little thing?" the Frenchman chuckled. Alfred passed the boy over as he reached for Francis, the Frenchman taking hold of him and smiling. "What is it, Ben?"

Ben grinned and reached up to his face curiously, giggling at the tickly feeling of Francis' beard against his pudgy little hands. Francis chuckled as he took hold of the beard and tugged a little, smiling at the boy fondly.

"What is it with these children and tugging my beard?" he chuckled, handing Ben back to Alfred when the boy reached for his father again with a bright smile.

"It's a stupid beard, I'm sure I've expressed my urge to rip it off your face many times," Arthur said, smiling sickeningly sweetly at him.

"You thought a lot of my style choices were stupid, yet you still copied me," Francis smirked.

"That's because you enjoyed manipulating me as a child," Arthur replied, smirking back. "And I don't begrudge you that time seeing as I have kicked your arse more times than I can count since."

"I'm not the one who got hit in the face with a codpiece though, whilst it was still on someone," Francis grinned.

"I couldn't see through the overwhelming stench of cheese and garlic," Arthur countered.

"You're a fine one to talk," Francis said, raising his eyebrows. "I'm surprised you could see at all with your food."

"My food is delicious and good for you! And you can actually get to eat something rather than that poxy rubbish you call 'haute cuisine'!" Arthur said.

"All right, Ladies! Claws away!" Grace said, breaking the pair apart as they got closer to throttling each other as they usually did.

"Oui, you are right, Ange," Francis smiled, patting her shoulder as he knew she would kill anyone who messed up her hair. "Well, I'll go now – there are more people to talk to!"

Arthur rolled his eyes and walked Lily away to the playpen area with Alfred, leaving the twins to go sit down elsewhere and wait for the other teenagers. They looked round as Dona hurried over to them, grinning as she dropped down onto the floor with them with a grin on her face.

Having not seen Dona in a while, it was refreshing to see their best friend – her bubbly smile, bright blue eyes and red hair just exuding her bright personality.

"Hey!" she grinned. "Are we all ready for another boring meeting?"

"Hey," Grace said. "Actually, I have no doubt that something will go wrong today… It always does…"

"She's little miss sunshine today because I had to get her up earlier than lunchtime to get here on time," Melinda said in response to Dona's exasperated expression.

"I'm a realist," Grace shrugged.

"You're cynical," Melinda said.

"I'm realistic… and cynical," Grace grinned.

Smiling more, the girls looked up as Adam and Tom ran over to them – the Canadian-Prussian twins seeming to have raced all the way from the front door. They collapsed to the floor heaving out laughter, though Adam looked a little worse than just lack of breath. A few minutes later, they were all joined by Marco – the boy wasting no time in going over to Melinda and putting his arm around her.

Because the meeting was about to start, the teenagers made their way out of the room like the others had done – Dona had explained where Mark had gone, and they knew that some teenagers didn't even enter the meeting room. Mai Lin, the daughter of Ivan and Wang, had slipped out the back door as soon as she had left her parents' sights – so the group decided that they would do similarly, making their ways to the second function room where the food and drink were to be set up for everyone.

Glancing back at the twins, Melinda watched as they muttered quietly – Adam slyly took an odd sweet she had never seen before, whilst Tom seemed to be keeping him somewhat supported as they walked.

They entered the function room and started to get their drinks, but Dona and Adam didn't see each other – they ended up crashing into each other and spilling a mixture of orange and apple juice over each other.

"Ah! Shit, Dona! I'm so sorry!" Adam said, looking at his cousin in surprise.

"It's fine, Adam…" Dona replied, setting her empty cup down. "We just smell like our drinks now… I have some deodorant with me though so it's fine."

Grace realised all too late what was about to happen, shouting out just as the room started to fill with the spray from Dona's deodorant can. She looked round and watched as Melinda held her chest, the oldest girl gasping slightly which only increased the tightening in her chest – she collapsed to the floor much to Marco's shock and coughed, barely able to breathe.

"Help her sit!" Grace shouted at Marco, making her way over to her sister and getting the inhaler she had hidden in her jacket from her pocket and helping her take it.

"What the fuck is going on?" Dona asked, looking at them.

"That's what I want to know!" Marco said, looking at Mel as she staggered to her feet and made her way out of the room in sheer embarrassment.

"Oh for the love of fucking God!" Grace snapped, storming out of the back door in frustration at her sister for not talking to them. Understanding what had happened, Adam hurried after Melinda finding her sat on the stairs. He sat down beside her and smiled kindly and without judgement, the girl looking at him surprised.

"Adam? What are you doing here?"

"I understand why you ran… You have asthma now? I've had type 2 diabetes since I was 10…" he said.

"What…?" Melinda blinked.

"We found out when I collapsed and went dead weight one day," he explained. "Mom panicked a bit and Dad to take me to the hospital. I don't know what they did to me, but I woke in a hospital bed and they said I had diabetes. Ever since I've had to keep watching my blood sugar and stuff. It's low at the moment, hence why I went for the juice rather than water and that sweet I know you saw me take."

"And you didn't say because you didn't want to be seen differently…" Melinda said in a hushed voice.

"Like you," Adam said.

"I have a very severe case of asthma…" Melinda confessed.

"Which is why you should tell us…" Adam smiled. "I sound like such a hypocrite, but it's true."

"I know."

Making their way back to the function room, the pair were cut off in the corridor by Dona and Marco – Tom was right behind them, but from the look on his face it was clear that he had explained about Adam's diabetes already.

"I guess you know about me?" Adam asked, receiving nods from Dona and Marco.

"And… uh… I have a really severe form of asthma…" Melinda said, looking up as Marco put his hands gently on her waist.

"When did it develop?" he asked.

"Yesterday…" Melinda replied, allowing herself to be pulled gently closer to him.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Dona asked. "I wouldn't have sprayed around you…"

"You know it wouldn't have changed anything," Marco said, kissing her head.

"I was just… self-conscious…" Melinda said. "I didn't want people to treat me differently…"

"We won't spray aerosols around you anymore, but it's nothing different about you," Marco said softly. "You're still you and that's all I care about."

Melinda smiled, then looked down. "I've pissed Grace off though…" she said. "She said I should have just told you…"

"She'll come around," Marco said, looking at the others who nodded. "Just be patient with her."

_**Notes:**_

**Got back into writing again!**

**And a biggy too!**

**So, I'll leave you to recover :)**

**Thanks for reading so far!**


	13. The Magic of Speech

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**The Magic of Speech**

Riding home in the car was an awkward experience for the entire family: Arthur kept turning around in the front passenger's seat to keep an eye on the children but couldn't help but notice the two teenagers in the back of the car sitting as far away from one another as they could. Alfred could see it too as he glanced back at them in the rear view mirror, but said nothing as his soul focus at that moment was driving them back to the small town where their home was without crashing the car.

Grace's expression was angry, her eyebrows almost knitted together in a single line as she glared resolutely out of the car window. Her arms were folded around herself tightly, her fingers gripping against her arm so tightly that her fingernails were turning white from the pressure. Her curly blonde hair was falling over her face slightly, but Arthur could clearly see how hard she was staring out of the window – her body was turned away from her sister, almost pressing up against the door as she tried to put as much distance between them as possible.

Melinda was also looking out of her own car window, but her green eyes were sad. Her frame was small and slightly hunched over as her chin rested against the palm of her hand, her arm leaning against the arm rest of the door. Her other hand was on her lap, her fingers gripping against the fabric of her shorts. For a split second, she glanced at Grace but almost seemed to flinch away from her again.

Arthur sighed quietly, knowing that whatever was going on between the girls needed to be sorted before it got out of hand.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

As soon as the car was parked, Grace got out of her side and walked up to the house before anyone could stop her. She got her key out of her purse and unlocked the large front door, leaving it open as she went inside and walked straight up to her bedroom. Arthur looked up and saw her bedroom door slam shut though her window, the lights down and her TV turning on meaning that she was about to lose herself in another violent video game.

With a heavy sigh, he picked Ben up from his car-seat and carried the sleeping boy in to the house after Melinda, keeping an eye on the oldest girl as she walked into the living room quietly and curled up on the sofa with a book. Behind him, Alfred shut the door again and watched as Lily ran into the kitchen to get herself a small carton of juice – he looked at Arthur as he carried Ben up to his bedroom, sighing himself as he tried to figure out just what was going on. Making sure that Lily was okay first (the little girl had gone to her room to do some drawing), Alfred went into the living room and gently took Melinda's book out of her hands as he sat down beside her. Blinking slightly in surprise, Melinda looked up at her father. Her expression turned into one of confusion, but she sat up straighter when she realised that he wanted to talk to her.

"What's up, Dad?" she asked quietly.

"What happened during that meeting that we don't know about, Melinda?" said Alfred, looking at his oldest daughter evenly. His face was straight and calm, but held a silent promise that there would be trouble if she didn't answer him now and honestly.

"I was an idiot," muttered Melinda. "I should have just listened to her, but I was a fucking moron and…"

"What do you mean?"

"Grace told me to just tell them about my asthma! She told me to… But I never did and then Dona sprayed a crap ton of deodorant around the room and I had that big asthma attack! None of that would have happened if I had just spoken up!" Melinda said, the volume of her voice rising slightly. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, taking in a deep breath. "Then I go and do the idiotic thing of running away when I was okay again. Any normal person would have stayed and talked to them, explained why I had had a fit and just get on… But no, not me! I'm the fucking moron that thinks everyone is going to judge me because of everything that's happened! I'm that one that keeps thinking that I'm going to get bubble-wrapped again because of my past! Because it nearly happened, didn't it! With Mum. He nearly tried to bubble-wrap me again when he found out about this but I told him no! Then this happened! In all honesty, all I want is for us all to just talk to one another like a normal family, like normal people and to do the same with our normal friends. But that can never happen because it is just one disaster after another with me, and they're all normally caused by me not listening or just me being me!"

"Mel…"

"No, Dad!" Melinda sighed. "It always has been my fault! It has… And all I seem capable of doing these days is pissing Grace off. You have noticed how she can't even look at me lately, right? Not just today…"

Reluctantly, Alfred nodded his head and looked at his daughter awkwardly. He didn't want to agree with her on any of the things she was saying, but he couldn't deny the fact that Grace's behaviour towards Melinda had turned more sour in recent weeks. "Look, Mel," he said. "It's like you say… We all just need to talk to one another a bit more. You'll see. Grace'll come round in the end. She always does."

"I'm running out of second chances, Dad," said Melinda, opening her eyes and looking up at him sadly. "But the thing is… I really don't know what to do… because… it's me… and I don't know how to change me…"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Knowing that Alfred was most likely talking to Melinda, Arthur (after settling Ben down for the night) left the little boy's room and stood in the hallway for a moment. He rubbed his head and ran his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes and letting out a soft groan. Looking round him, he moved over Grace's door and raised his hand to knock but hesitated. Frowning slightly, he lowered his hand and walked away, an idea forming in his head – he knew his daughter was like him in many ways, and in that she had taken on his traits for closing himself away from the world.

It was only now that he was fully understanding that that was what she had been doing over the past few weeks – after the incident with her older sister and how close she had come to killing again, after all the mental torment that she had had to endure thanks to her darkside and his inability to teach her how to contain her and stop her from taking on a life of her own as he had done with his own darkside… He knew now that, though Grace found it so much easier to talk to her father, that in this instance they didn't have that in common; she couldn't run to Alfred as she usually could – their roles had reversed and Melinda was in the position where she could turn to Alfred whose experience was much greater than Arthur's with her fears.

And he knew that the only way that he would be able to prise into Grace's world would be to show her that he truly did understand and that he wasn't going to give her a maternal lecture. Arthur walked into the kitchen and went straight for the kettle, turning it on at the wall and pressing the button to start boiling the water inside. From the cupboards, he took out two mugs – his own comfort mug, an old green cylinder that had seen him through many a lonely night; and a reasonably new mug, one similar in shape but with a beautiful floral pattern surrounding a calligraphic number '16'. He set about his usual routine and after a few minutes had two steaming mugs of tea ready. Smiling to himself, he picked up both mugs and went back upstairs.

"Grace?" he said to the door, hoping that she would come open it for him. "Grace, Sweetheart, it's me. Could you open the door for me please? My hands are full…"

Waiting for a few minutes, Arthur sighed and looked at the mugs before his head shot up at the sound of movement inside the room. Smiling softly, he watched the door open a crack – Grace poked her head around the door frame and looked him up and down; the room behind her dark except for the flickering light of her TV. As the smell of the tea hit her nostrils, Grace sighed and opened the door further and went back inside allowing Arthur to follow her. Setting his mug down on her desk, he pulled her chair round and sat down on it, handing the mug to the girl who sat cross-legged on her bed. Picking up his mug again, Arthur took a sip of the warm liquid and sighed softly as it warmed his body from the inside. Grace did the same and for a moment they sat in a contented silence sipping their tea. But both knew that it wouldn't last.

"Grace, is everything okay?" asked Arthur, keeping his eyes on his mug. He wanted the conversation to move along naturally, just a mother and daughter taking over a cup of tea despite the darker nature behind the exchange.

"Yes…" muttered Grace, her lips barely moving away from the brim of the mug. Her eyes were closed, a sign to Arthur that she was still closing herself away. Getting up from the chair, he set the mug on the desk again and sat down on the bed with his daughter, putting his hand on her shoulder gently.

"Talk to me…" he said softly, watching as Grace shook slightly but refused to open her eyes.

"I'm lost, Mum…" she replied quietly, her voice breaking.

"Lost?"

"Too much room and not enough to fill it…" Grace sighed.

Blinking, Arthur moved Grace's mug onto her bedside table and held her close, feeling her cling to him more than she had ever done in her whole life. "It's all going to be fine," he said, rubbing her back gently. "Just give it a little more time."

"I know…" grumbled Grace, though she held him tighter.

"You can do this," Arthur said, kissing the top of her head. "You've succeeded in everything else you've done."

"But I always upset everyone in the process…" said Grace.

"No, you don't."

"I always upset Melinda then," continued Grace.

"No you don't…" Arthur sighed. "Grace, she gets upset because she thinks she's upset you!"

Blinking, Grace looked up at him. "Only get upset when she does something really stupid…" she said. "Today well… I kept telling her to talk to them. Especially Marco… But she got so scared… I didn't really see that…"

Arthur smiled softly. "You're a smart girl, Grace," he said. "You just need something to keep you occupied."

"Yeah…" she said. "I can't wait to get to college…"

"Well, four A levels will definitely keep you busy," Arthur chuckled. Grace smiled, so Arthur knew that the conversation could move on a bit. "So, other than this, is everything okay? How's Edward?"

"He's feeling better," Grace replied. "It's just a cold now."

"Good."

"He's promised to take me out on a date on my birthday," Grace smiled, blushing a little.

"Do you know where?"

"No," she replied, smiling softly. Arthur smiled at her expression. "I've been so worried about him… But now he's getting better so I guess I can relax…"

"You needn't have worried in the first place," Arthur said.

"I know," Grace said. "But with my track record, I didn't want to jinx it… Still don't, if I'm totally honest, but I have to be a little optimistic or I'll go back to…" Arthur understood so simply nodded when she cut off.

"Let's head downstairs, okay?" he said. "I think you need to talk to your sister."

Looking a little reluctant, Grace sighed and nodded her head. "Okay…" she said, getting up from the bed after Arthur offered his hand to her. Following him downstairs slowly, they both blinked as they reached the living room – it was filled with sweets and chocolates and crisps, two tubs of ice cream were there too. Alfred was kneeling on the floor by the DVD player, but he looked round and smiled when he heard them. Melinda looked up too, getting up and smiling – in her hands she had the biggest bar of chocolate that Arthur had ever seen. Stepping over to Alfred, he watched as Melinda held it out for Grace and smiled apologetically.

"I got the biggest one the store had," she said. Grace looked at the bar of chocolate and took it from her sister, setting it down on the table before hugging her tightly. Melinda hugged her back, smiling.

"We're having a movie night," Alfred grinned.

"It's not a scary one is it?" Arthur said, picking up some popcorn from a bowl that was also on the table and eating it.

"What do you take me for?" chuckled Alfred.

"A moron," Arthur smirked, laughing as the remote was thrown at him.

"Actually, Mel picked the film," Alfred smiled. "It's a smart one, you'll like it. _Shutter Island_."

"Oh, I've heard of that!"

And so the family settled down and did something normal for a change, relaxing in the break unaware that darker forces were waiting for their return to England.

_**Notes:**_

**Uh, well, it's been nearly a month since I've updated this but I was totally lost with it and then other story ideas came to light that wouldn't leave me alone unless I wrote them down. I'll try to do better with the updates though but I have a big project coming up in 2 weeks for college and it's a doozy…**

**Anyways, I shall leave you with this angsty then cute chapter and flee off to work. Well, I have an hour until work at this point… (it's currently lunchtime here in the UK) but yeah! Laters~!**


	14. Truths are Revealed and Accidents Happen

_**Disclaimer: Events near the end of this chapter are going to lead to an event that some readers will probably not enjoy. But, hell, it's my story and I write what I want to. Anyway, please feel free to skip the next few chapters (not sure how many really), but you will be missing out. Thanks.**_

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Truths are Revealed and Accidents Happen**

A few weeks passed and eventually the family returned back to their home in England. The twins were starting to get excited and anxious about their first day of college, knowing that the campus of the new place they would be going to would be a lot larger than that of their school. That and having 14 weeks off for their summer holidays had managed to get them both into a new routine of not being that social with anyone but themselves and their family. Their old friends from school were long gone and moved on from the events that had happened on their last day – and the 14 weeks of silence from them was a clear sign that no contact was going to be made ever again.

At the end of their first day, the girls returned at various times in the day – Grace came home at 3pm after her A Level classes had finished, and Melinda returned at 5pm with Arthur (as the Brit had finished work at that time and went to pick her up as the evenings were slowly starting to get darker sooner again). They had had a mix on how their days had been going – Melinda's, though longer in length, went along really quickly with very little work being given to them. Grace's, however, dragged on for the amount of work she was given – her folder full of papers and assignments that she had to do for homework as soon as she got home.

The day after would be the twin's birthday, their 17th birthday which they had nothing planned for thanks to it being a Saturday and not knowing whether Melinda would have to go into work – the older girl having managed to land herself a Saturday morning shift at a local nursery when they had returned to England. Thankfully, when Melinda had gotten out of college she had received a text from her boss – a kind lady named Helen – who said she could move her Saturday shift to the following Monday as another girl was taking that shift off.

After they had had their dinner, the family were sat in the living room quietly with the evening news on in the background just to give off a little noise. Alfred was sat on the sofa with Ben, lifting the little boy into the air and blowing raspberries on his stomach to make him laugh; Arthur was curled up in his arm chair reading a book; Grace was on the floor at the coffee table with her folder trying to get through her homework; Melinda was in another seat with her Macbook practicing with Photoshop for her Graphics class; and Lily was on the sofa with Alfred and Ben giggling at her little brother.

Looking round as the doorbell rang, Melinda set her laptop down and got up to go answer it – she turned the porch light on and unhooked the chain on the door before pulling it open and blinking at the sight before her. Marco was leaning against the fencing on the porch, his hands in the pockets of his jeans and a smile on his face. But stood closer to the door were Edward and Emily, the young girl looking rather nervous and holding onto a huge folder.

"Hey," Melinda said, smiling at them. "This is a nice surprise, come in!" She stepped aside and let the Alden's inside, looking up at Marco as he came inside too and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

"Evening," he smiled.

Grace looked up in surprise when she heard the movement of people entering the living room, blinking as she saw Emily clutching onto the folder. She looked over at Arthur as he set his book down and smiled kindly at the girl, sitting forward in his seat to try and make her feel less nervous.

"Hello, Emily," he smiled gently. "What brings you round here at this time of the evening?"

"Our parents are out of town," Edward explained. "And well, Emily finally explained to me what she's been doing in the attic and wanted to share it with you too."

Emily nodded. "I found out more about the other Emily's life," she said. "Mainly stuff about her home life and stuff."

"Have you?" Arthur said, genuinely interested. "What have you found?"

Walking over to him, Emily handed over the folder and rubbed her arm awkwardly. "You might not be too pleased with it…" she said. "Her life was pretty horrible…"

"I'm not at all surprised," Arthur replied, opening it and starting to look through the information Emily had impressively put together. "It wasn't a very good time to be a woman back then… and I confess that my country's mind-set influenced me a fair bit…"

"I managed to find medical records from when she was my age," Emily said, letting him flip to those pages. "They're not very clear because of the time period, but there is one thing that could have left wounds like that… I found stories about her dad… He was a horrible man… There are a lot of things that say he beat her up on a regular basis, and it stopped when she was 16; when she ran away and disappeared. That was when she went to your ship. She kept paying visits though which is why no one looked for her and why her brother left, because he didn't want to stay with their father. He went off to try and make a living for himself and the woman that would soon become his wife. Then their father got sick and still tried to hurt her… She defended herself in the only way that she could, and killed him…"

"That's my fault," Arthur sighed.

"How?" questioned Emily confusedly.

"I taught her how to defend herself like that," Arthur explained.

Emily nodded. "There was no evidence of her being there for a visit," she continued. "But, Edward was the one who found him and he knew from small differences only she could make that she had done it. He didn't know where she'd gone, but he knew that she wasn't coming back."

"She should have gone back…"

"She went back to your ship."

"And she died on my ship," Arthur said, looking at the last entry in the folder.

"She was happy there though," Emily said. Arthur looked at her for a moment before smiling a little. "Did she ever tell you?"

"About her Dad? No…" Arthur shook his head. "I was her captain not her confident. I still have everything she left on the ship… Except the reason she died of course…"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

After saying goodbye to Edward and Emily, Grace had made her way up stairs and walked along the corridor to get to her room; pausing outside Melinda's room for a moment before knocking on the door softly and opened it slightly to peek inside. She smiled a little at the sight of her sister and Marco sleeping soundly in her bed, Marco's back facing the door and his arms wrapped protectively around Melinda. However, she was quick to shut the door again when she saw their clothes scattered across the floor and the slight red scratches on Marco's shoulder blades.

Shaking her head and chuckling to herself, Grace went to her own bedroom – shutting herself inside to go to sleep and try to burn the images from her mind.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The next morning, Melinda woke up at 5am as usual and laid still just watching Marco sleeping against her shoulder. She smiled softly and smoothed her fingers through his hair, watching as he slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her. After many kisses, the pair eventually got out bed and dressed to go downstairs where they blinked at the sights of balloons and presents.

Edward was sat on the sofa with Grace, his arm around her and smirk on his face as he looked at the other couple as they walked into the room. There was an awkward smirk on Grace's face, one that revealed to Melinda that her sister knew about her and Marco's activities the night before.

Blushing a little, she sat down with her boyfriend and smiled at her parents and little siblings as they wished her happy birthday.

"Pesents!" Ben grinned. "Mine first! Mine first!"

Chuckling fondly, the twins took their presents and opened them one by one from Ben, Lily and their boyfriends – their grins getting larger with everything they opened. They moved onto the gifts sent to them from Matt, Scott, Ryan, Bryn and Aednat; both girls grinning from ear to ear about everything they had been given.

"You've still got one more to go," Alfred smiled, watching as Arthur passed the girls an envelope each. Confused, the twins took them and opened the quickly and carefully – both pulling out a letter with a card attached. Taking a closer look at the card, it took a moment for the information to sink in before both girls lunged at their parents and hugged them tightly. They'd been given provisional licenses – meaning that they could start learning to drive whenever they wanted.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" they exclaimed, laughing with Arthur and Alfred.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Not too long after, Edward and Marco had took the twins out for separate dates leaving Alfred and Arthur alone with Lily and Ben. It had been an hour and they were still sat in the living room trying to teach Ben a game, when Alfred noticed Arthur picking at the fabric of his trousers.

"Arthur?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," replied Arthur, getting to his feet. "I'll be back in a minute okay. There's something that I need to check out quickly…"

"Okay…" Alfred said, watching as he hurried out of the room and made his way to the kitchen. That in itself started to peak Alfred's curiosity – knowing that the only reason Arthur would go to the kitchen in that kind of hurry would be to go down into the basement. Looking at the kids, Alfred smiled and kissed their heads when he saw their confused expressions continuing the game that they had been trying to play and chuckling as Ben threw the ball the wrong way again. Lily giggled at her younger brother but then blinked as she heard a banging noise under the floor boards. Ben looked down startled, crawling onto Alfred's lap nervously.

With a sigh, Alfred picked up both anxious children and set them on the sofa. "I will be back in a second okay?" he said. "Mommy went to the basement – that was probably him. I'm just going to make sure he's not done something silly."

"Okay, Daddy," Lily said, holding Ben's hand. "I'll keep Ben safe!"

"I know you will," Alfred smiled, getting to his feet again and heading to the basement. He walked quickly, pausing at the door and bracing himself before pulling it open slowly. He genuinely hated the basement, it was like entering something from a scary movie and it always changed – one day it could be simple boxes, the next he could find a Satanic symbol etched on the floor (and he had lost count of the times he had had to tell Arthur to clean up after himself when he's come across those).

When he opened the door, the first thing that Alfred noticed was the chanting. Furrowing his brows, he started to walk down the stairs quietly listening as Arthur chanted in the language he had come to find familiar but still had no idea about. He got to the bottom and grimaced slightly as the wood creaked, putting Arthur off. The Brit jumped as he was startled out of his concentration, the end of his spell botched up creating a loud bang, flash of light and puff of smoke directed at Alfred.

Yelping in surprise, Alfred fell backwards onto the stairs and groaned in pain. Waving his hand in front of his face, Arthur coughed at the smoke and looked around until he spotted the figure on the floor.

"Alfr… ed..." he said disjointedly from shock. He looked at the American in disbelief, taking in his appearance as the smoke cleared.

"Urgh…" groaned Alfred, blinking at the difference in his voice. Looking down his body, he saw his clothes hanging off him but two distinct bumps at the top of his chest and one appendage missing. His head snapped up at Arthur, his now longer hair falling off his face. "What the fuck did you do?!"

_**Notes:**_

**Like I said, this twist won't be to everyone's taste, but whatever :)**

**Hardly anyone reviews on this story anymore anyways, so *shrugs*. Last chapter got 0 reviews, it's kind hard to find inspiration ya know so… *sigh***

**ANYWAYS! To you guys who are reading and do like the twist but are too shy to review, thumbs up to you guys. Don't worry, I don't bite :3 Much, and trust me, you'll enjoy it ;D**

**[EDIT]**

**Any anon reviews that need a response will be answered on my Tumblr :) **

** .com**

**Thank you :)**


	15. The Accidental Switch

**Pairing Warning – UKxFem!US (Alfred will be called "Alfred" still but will be referred to as "she".)**

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**The Accidental Switch**

Arthur was in a state of total disbelief as he stared at Alfred's new form which he had to admit to himself that he found just as attractive as before. Though the clothes on her body were dwarfing her, Arthur could tell that Alfred's new body was small and slender – but judging by the comfortable size of her new breasts she was definitely not a stick thin creature like he saw in most American TV shows. Her blonde hair was curly and shoulder length, though Nantucket still stood up proudly at the front of her parting.

Alfred's small hands reached up to her face and pulled the glasses from them as they started to slip down his nose, the frames now too big to fit her petite features. However, she found that for some reason in that form she didn't need them. Looking up at Arthur, she glared at him and waited for a response to her question – she wanted to know why she was now a she.

"Answer me," she demanded. "What did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything!" replied Arthur, moving closer but keeping his distance just in case. "_You_ interrupted _me_!"

Getting to her feet, Alfred kept her eyes on him but made sure that her hands were gripping at the large clothes to keep them covering her body – she was frustrated to find that she was now slightly shorter than Arthur in height, but only by a tiny bit. "I didn't know what you were doing!"

"But you know what I do down here!" Arthur urged.

"BUT YOU TURNED ME INTO A GIRL!"

"I didn't mean to!"

Alfred groaned and sighed heavily, her fists tightening around the fabric of her shirt and jeans. "What are we going to do…"

"I don't know…" Arthur said, his heart dropping slightly as she looked to the ground. "We'll figure it out though…" Looking around him quickly, he hurried over to an old bookcase on the other side of the room and scanned along the shelves until he found the right volume of a spell book. Flicking through the pages of the aged guide, Arthur tried to find the spell or potion that would be able to turn Alfred back to her normal state. "Oh no…"

"Oh no?" Alfred asked, watching his every move. "Don't say oh no. Oh no isn't good enough at the moment."

"I was hoping that it would be a quick fix…" Arthur explained. "A spell is always a quick fix but there is no spell to reverse this… But there is a potion…"

"Potions are fine by me as long as I change back."

"Potions aren't quick to make though… and this one is particularly difficult…" Arthur sighed. "This is going to take about two weeks… Maybe even slightly longer…"

"What do we do then…?" Alfred muttered.

"I'll make the potion," Arthur answered. "But besides that there's not a lot that we can do. You'll have to borrow clothes from the twins for the time being."

"The kids are going to freak out when they see this…" Alfred sighed. She looked at Arthur sadly, the Brit setting the book down before moving over to her and wrapping his arms around her tightly. Alfred would have hugged him back, but was too frightened of letting her clothes go so just leant her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Alfred…" Arthur whispered, smoothing her hair comfortingly.

"It's my own stupid fault…" replied Alfred.

"It's not your fault… I should have told you outright what I was doing… I know how curious you get… And… there may be some side effects from this… I don't know what but…" Arthur said, looking down at her. Above them they heard the noise of the front door being opened and shut, then the voices of the younger children calling at their older sisters – the girls were back and it was time to show them their new mother… Leading Alfred upstairs carefully, making sure to help her with the clothes, Arthur walked through the kitchen and straight to the living room where they both received shocked looks.

"Mum… what are you… Who…" Melinda said, looking between them.

"There was an accident with a spell…" Arthur sighed. "Alfred got caught in it and well…"

"That's…" muttered Grace, looking at Alfred. "Dad…"

"Yeah, hey…" sighed Alfred. "Can I borrow clothes from you two… I'm gonna be like this for a while…"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Having figured out that Alfred was pretty much the same size as Melinda, the girls set about stocking Alfred up on clothes that Melinda didn't wear that often that would suit her style and tastes. Arthur left them to it to explain the situation better to Lily and Ben, but could hear them upstairs picking out the different items that Alfred could wear during her time as a girl.

After being left alone once more, Alfred shut the door of the master bedroom and sighed softly to herself. Knowing that it was now or never, she started to strip out of her man clothes, letting the items fall to the floor. Totally naked, she stood in front of the long mirror on the other side of the room and took in her reflection – she didn't know why she was feeling so conscious of herself, staring at every little curve that her new body was making and running her hands over herself to make sure that it really wasn't just some perverted dream. Over her shoulder, Alfred saw Arthur's reflection join her own – very conscious now that someone else was seeing her bare body. Arthur kept his distance but made sure his presence was known, slyly taking in the view of her body whilst he had the chance.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, taking a step forward. He smiled softly at the blush that formed all over her body, pushing his luck slightly and wrapping his arms around her.

"You're such a pervert," Alfred replied, looking up at him but smiling nonetheless. Arthur chuckled and nuzzled her jaw, pressing light kisses to the corner and down her neck.

"I mean it…" he said. "You look absolutely amazing."

"Arthur… I feel weird…" uttered Alfred, taking a deep breath. She gasped slightly as Arthur's arms tightened around her body, pulling her close. "What's happening…?"

"I think this might be that side effect…" Arthur said, his voice slightly hoarse. He had to admit that he wasn't feeling the same anymore now he was back in her presence again – it was like some invisible force was pulling them together in an increasing pool of heat. Giving in for a moment, Arthur turned her and pressed her back up against the nearest wall. He groaned as his body laid flat against hers, leaning down and kissing her hard. Alfred gasped but didn't fight back, keening slightly at the peculiar feeling building in her groin every time she looked up at Arthur. Their lips crashed together once more, needy and fast – like they had been waiting for a very long time to be doing something like this. Alfred's thin fingers reached up and carded themselves through Arthur's messy hair, holding onto him as Arthur moved them swiftly over onto the bed.

They still had no idea where it was coming from, but they couldn't stop… The heat building in their bodies was so intense they could almost feel something pulling them together. Alfred looked up at Arthur as he pinned her down on the bed, her fingers moving from his hair to the buttons of his shirt – expertly pulling it open and pushing it from his shoulders. Moving down from her neck, Arthur's lips started to explore the skin of Alfred's new body, mouthing at every new dip and spending extra time at her breasts. He gently took a nipple between his teeth, flicking the nub with his tongue and rolling it slightly before repeating it with the other one – Alfred moaning wantonly as he did so. After spending time at her breasts, he continued to kiss and suck down her torso, going lower and lower until he reached another new spot.

Alfred never took her eyes off him, taking a sharp breath as Arthur started to mouth and kiss her new vagina. His tongue was swift to enter her, her hands back in his hair encouraging him to continue everything he was doing and her legs rising into arches to give him more room. His fingers gripped at her hips, pulling her slightly closer as he switched between toying with her clitoris and lapping at her damp opening. Alfred's hands gripped at his hair, quickly changing to the bed sheets as she moaned more and arched her back slightly.

Moving away from that area quickly, Arthur loomed over her and kissed her deeply, pressing his tongue deep into her mouth and trailing it across her own. Alfred shuddered at the taste but kissed him back just as heatedly, her nimble fingers now working effortlessly at getting his trousers off. Helping her, Arthur get himself naked quickly, grunting slightly as he was pulled and rolled so he was on his back. Smirking at him, Alfred moved down his body to his member and started to stroke it. He groaned and watched her, shuddering as she took him into her mouth. True to form, Alfred bobbed her head straight away, sucking at just the right moments and taking him in deeper each time. At the same time, she cupped his sack, fiddling with his testicles causing him to squeeze his eyes shut and moan her name.

After a little while of that treatment, Arthur pulled her off and leant over to get a condom. She waited patiently as he slipped it on himself before crawling into his lap and straddling him. Gasping, she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew herself closer to him as he entered her, stopping only when she was fully seated. They waited for a moment before she lifted herself and slammed back down, the pair moving together that way until Arthur lost his patience and pinned her down on the mattress once more – thrusting into her hard and fast. Alfred gripped the bed sheets again, moaning Arthur's name over and over as he pressed her harder into the mattress.

A suddenly feeling erupted inside her, her toes curling and her voice calling out Arthur's name. She saw white. Arthur grunted as he thrusted, his face pressing down into her neck as he peaked and came too.

Panting harshly, the pair took a moment to regain themselves before looking up at each other.

"That was…"

"…Fun," Alfred smirked.

Arthur chuckled and nuzzled her. "Yes, it certainly was," he replied.

_**Notes:**_

**I'm… yeah…**

**Thanks to you guys who made it this far :) Not really sure what to say about it but that happened and next chapter further adventures will occur xD Laters **


	16. Of Flirts, Visions and Dangers

_**Pairing warning – UKxFem!US.**_

**The Aftermath is Secondary**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Of Flirts, Visions and Dangers**

Alfred yawned softly as she opened her eyes – 2 weeks had passed since Arthur had accidentally turned her into a girl, and the pair were no more closer to turning her back into a man than they had been those few weeks previous. She sat up and stretched, looking down as Arthur shifted closer to her and rested his head against her hip; she smiled softly and ran her fingers through his hair, humming softly as he nuzzled against her.

She had to admit that she was getting used to being in that form – she wanted desperately to be back to normal but she was fairly comfortable with herself again. With help from the girls, she had managed to find clothes from them that fit her and suited her – and as a man she was fairly stylish, she found it no difficulty to let her girl-brain kick into effect to make her seem like a genuine female. She could still remember what had happened a few days into her being turned into a woman.

Arthur had needed to go to another part of the country, an area slightly more south than London – it wasn't for an official meeting so the family were allowed to go with him. When they arrived in the new city, Arthur told them that he did need to go and see this old friend by himself to discuss their business but that he shouldn't be more than 15 minutes. This gave the girls the opportunity to take Alfred out to some shops in the area to buy clothes for themselves but also stuff that she could borrow too. So they had begun their journey through the shopping district, Alfred pushing Ben's buggy and laughing as Lily stood on the board on the back. She was left alone with them for a moment, looking through clothes as the twins wandered off to look at things in their own styles, when someone came up behind her.

The man was fairly attractive – tall, lean, slight stubble, brown eyes and black hair – and he was smiling at Alfred charmingly.

"Are they yours?" he asked, looking down at Lily and Ben who were watching him apprehensively.

Alfred took a moment before nodding. "Yeah, they're mine," she said, glancing down at the kids to help them remember they were to call her "Mummy" rather than "Daddy" out in public.

"How old are they?"

"Lily here is 2 and Ben is nearly 4 months."

"Wow," he said. "You must have been young when you had her then cos you don't look any older than 20."

"It's really not that much of a gap, I'd say," Alfred said.

"D… Mummy… Can we go now?" Lily muttered, tugging at Alfred's jeans. Alfred nodded and went to start pushing the buggy away when the man took her hand suddenly and pulled her back.

"Wait…" he said. "Are you caring for them by yourself?"

Just as Alfred opened her mouth to answer, a voice came from behind the guy – and it didn't sound happy.

"Actually, I think you'll find that my wife and I look after our children equally."

Glancing over his shoulder, the guy blinked as he took in Arthur's appearance, smirking after a moment and standing up straight. "Really, Pal?" he sneered. "A dorky looking guy like you is married to a hot thing like that? I doubt it."

"Excuse me?" said Alfred. "You really think that I wouldn't be married to him? What kind of stereotypes have you been looking through recently? He may be a bit of a nerd but at least he doesn't go around stores hitting on women like a sport."

"You had better fuck off in the next 20 seconds or this nerd will show you the exit the hard way," glared Arthur, stepping towards the guy who laughed at him hard.

"Really, a tiny little shit like you is gonna show me the exit the hard way?"

Arthur said no more, simply reaching forwards and holding onto a pressure point in the man's neck. Taking advantage of his momentary weakness, he then grabbed his arms behind his back and shoved him into a clothes rack. "And don't even bother calling security or the police," he said darkly. "You wouldn't believe the kinds of connections I have and you really don't want to test me anymore."

With that, he walked back over to Alfred and put his arm around her – the family walking away from the bewildered man on the shop floor without looking back. As soon as they were far enough away, Alfred broke into a fit of laughter, grinning up at Arthur widely as he too started to snigger at what had happened.

The day after that was when things started to take a turn for the worse, something that was still giving Alfred a headache even as she sat in bed and looked down at Arthur's sleeping form.

She could still remember waking up early in the morning as sunshine poured in through the crack of the curtains. It was an abnormally hot day for early October, but then again they hadn't really had a hot summer in the UK that year so they weren't that surprised about the abnormal weather changes. She had sat up, a light layer of sweat over her body as she tried to cool herself down.

However, as she lowered her feet down onto the floor, a scream happened. A high pitched scream that came straight from Lily's room. She didn't even pause as Arthur sat bolt upright in bed, vaulting over the bed and out of the room quickly. She ran down the corridor, past the twins (Melinda having gone to Ben's room as he had started crying because of the scream, Grace still in her doorway) and into Lily's room.

The little girl was thrashing around under her covers, screaming and crying. Her whole body was soaked with sweat, her blonde hair darker and sticking to her face and head. She was clearly asleep though, having a nightmare no doubt. Alfred hurried over to the bed and untangled her from the covers, shifting her onto her lap and smoothing her hair off of her face.

"It's okay, Baby," she whispered softly, rocking her gently. "It's okay, I'm here."

Lily's eyes shot open as she screamed a final time, her eyes haunted and filled with terror. She panted harshly, not looking at anyone as she jumped off of Alfred's lap straight to her cupboard. They watched her worriedly as she got out a beaten old drawing pad and a pencil, sitting down and sketching away quickly and impressively. When the picture was done, she dropped the pencil and shoved the book away from her – Arthur picked her up and held her close, watching as Alfred took the pad and looked at the picture.

"Is this your dream?" she asked, looking at Lily who nodded.

"But it's real…" the little girl stuttered.

"Honey, it's only a dream…" Arthur said. Alfred's eyes narrowed though, looking down at the book in her hands. She started to flick through the old pad, looking at all the drawings that were inside. Her eyes widened again as she looked through each one, slowly realising…

"Arthur… all of these drawings came true…" she said, looking up at the Brit. Arthur blinked and went over to look at them: a sweet image of himself holding a baby that looked a lot like Ben, Melinda unconscious in a bed covered in wires, Grace dressed as the nurse from Romeo and Juliette, Alfred saving Melinda on the Golden Gate Bridge… Events from their past, recent and further back, drew in great detail by a little girl who wouldn't have been able to understand what was going on at the time. Arthur looked down at Lily whose head was resting on his shoulder now she had finally calmed down and pressed a kiss to the top of it as he sat down beside Alfred.

"Honey, how long have you been having dreams like this?" he asked.

"… I don't know…" she replied, looking up at him. "A long time… The first dream was of Grace and Edward on a roof somewhere then it flickered to Melinda and Marco in a corridor smiling… then Melinda was screaming and pinned to the ceiling…"

"How often do you have dreams like this?" Alfred asked.

"Not often," Lily said. "That was the worst one though…"

"What happened?" asked Grace from the doorway.

"It was dark and there was a girl running through the woods…" Lily said. "She was scared and trying to find something but then something cornered her… It was big and hairy and scary… It's teeth were all pointy and dirty and it pounced her… and started to eat her…"

"And who was this girl? When is this going to happen?" asked Alfred.

"Soon… and it's… Melinda…" Lily muttered. "Are you mad at me?"

"No, Honey," Arthur said, smoothing her hair softly. "We're not mad at you, but you do need to tell us straight away when you have another dream like this… You had us worried just now…"

"Okay," Lily muttered. "I'm sorry, Mummy… Sorry, Daddy…"

"Don't worry, Baby…" Alfred replied.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Sighing softly, Alfred got out of bed and ran her hands through her hair. With all that had been going on, from the guy to Lily's visions, she hadn't had much time to get used to being a woman. Yes, she had been slowly adjusting but her whole life had changed in such a sudden twist. She sighed softly and left the bedroom, walking downstairs and out of the back door to sit on the porch.

Putting her head in her hands, she groaned a little before looking up at the sky. Looking around her, Alfred blinked slightly as she went to push her glasses up her nose only to realise they weren't there anymore. She was still feeling disorientated – she was shorter, thinner and lighter, her hair was longer, her eyesight was better… But every little habit she had developed as a man still rang clear in her mind and it was off putting to attempt to do them and realise that she no longer could.

And then there were the nagging questions she had about Arthur and his actions and feelings towards her at that moment in time. She kept thinking about how Arthur held her close to him as he slept, how tenderly he treated her when the occasions came for them to relieve the aftermath of the spell, how he looked at her from across the room so softly… She didn't understand what was so different about her now that would make Arthur start behaving in such ways… Did he love her more as a woman than he had as a man?

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Blinking, she looked up as Arthur took a seat beside her on the porch. He was fully dressed and had his keys in his hand, the other hand resting on her back – another little gesture he had only adorned since her gender swap.

"I was just thinking about what's happened…" Alfred sighed, pushing her hair out of her eyes again. "How things have changed…"

"What do you mean?"

"How you treat me now… You look at me differently, treat me differently…"

Arthur blinked. "I didn't think I was…" he said. "I'm treating you just as I was, just with some things I couldn't do when you were so tall… Maybe you're only noticing it now because you're conscious of the change you've undergone?"

"Maybe…" Alfred muttered. "Do you… do you prefer me like this?"

"No," Arthur replied. "I love you equally, man or woman. I'll admit I'm enjoying the perks of having you as my wife rather than my husband, but I married you as a man and as a man I would like you to be again. You are beautiful at the moment and beyond handsome as a man – either form, there is nothing I would change about you. You may be shorter and in touch with your feminine side at the moment, but you are still you no matter how different you may feel." He leant in and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "So, stop worrying, okay? You're the most important thing in my life aside from the kids. Don't you ever forget that."

"I just need reminding from time to time," Alfred replied, smiling at him softly. "I love you, Arthur."

"And I love you too," he replied, getting up. "I won't be too long. I was heading out to the shops with Mel but got distracted when I couldn't find you. She went on ahead so I have to run to catch up."

"Go then," Alfred chuckled, getting up too and shoving him gently. "Has Grace gone too?"

"No, I think she was playing with Lily and Ben," Arthur said, kissing her cheek. "We shouldn't be too long."

"Okay," Alfred grinned, following him inside. She watched him leave before heading to have a shower.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Having let Grace play around with her hair, Alfred was now dressed and ready – waiting for Arthur to return. Grace and the children were in Ben's room play again, leaving her alone in the living room flicking through channels on the TV.

Looking around, she got up off the sofa as her phone went off on the unit near the door. Confused, she hurried over and answered it to instantly hear the sobs of her eldest daughter.

"Melinda? Mel, what's wrong? Calm down, Baby…" she said.

"M-Mum…" she sobbed, Alfred knowing straight away that she was near humans who could hear her. "M-Mum… D-Dad… He's… God… Dad's been hit by a car…"

_**Notes:**_

… **I'm going to be killed aren't I?**

**First I don't update for a while and then I leave you with a cliff hanger….**

**Hmmmm….**

**Sorry guys xD**

**Anyways, I hope you are enjoying this so far. Updates should be fairly normal soon cos I've been dealing with a big project and didn't need the struggle of stories and the project… Sorry, but real life takes priority over fiction…**

**See you soon!**


	17. Complicated

**Final UKxFem!US chapter!**

_**The Aftermath is Secondary**_

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

_**Complicated**_

It took Alfred's mind a moment to catch up with what Melinda had just told her. All she could register at that moment was her daughter's frightened sobbing and her own increasing breathing. Shaking her head quickly to clear her thoughts, she steeled herself and made sure that her voice was steady before talking to Melinda.

"Just stay calm, Melinda," she said. "Have you called an ambulance?"

"I'm in it at the moment," replied Melinda. "The guy who hit Dad called an ambulance straight away. He was pretty shaken up by what happened…"

"What happened then?" asked Alfred as she walked round to find Grace.

"Well, I was on the other side of the road… I was just heading towards a shop when I heard Dad call me in the background. I looked round and saw him waving at me… I waved back but he wasn't paying attention to the road. He stepped out just as a car was coming round and it hit him."

"Okay… Okay," Alfred said, walking into Ben's bedroom. She looked at the kids and Grace as they turned around. "Don't panic okay – I'll be there as soon as I can."

Waiting until she had hung up, Grace looked up at her father in concern. "Dad, what's going on?"

"That was Melinda," Alfred said, looking at Grace to say she was going to censor her explanation for the children's sake. "There's been an accident and I have to go make sure everything's okay. It would be a great help if you could stay here and make sure that the kids are okay for me…"

"Of course," Grace replied, nodding hastily. "Go! But don't forget to let me know what's going on!"

Alfred nodded and made her way back downstairs, grabbing her car keys and leaving the house without another word. She knew that Arthur had a tendency to space out whenever the kids were involved but this time really took the biscuit. She got to the car and unlocked it, getting into the driver's seat and sticking the key into the ignition – after the engine was on she put her seatbelt on and started to drive through the city to the hospital. So far she and Arthur had been pretty good at avoiding the people they knew whilst she was in the state she was, so she was pretty much dreading having to face Doctor Riordan – it would be difficult enough having to explain what had happened to her to a another nation, let alone a human entrusted with their healthcare.

The drive to the hospital took a 20 minutes longer than she had hoped it would – traffic around the area the accident had happened had worsened due to those circumstances and she could look when she saw what could have possibly been Arthur's blood in the middle of the road. Taking a deep breath, she kept going and eventually made her way into the hospital car park – she paid for a ticket and then made her way into the specialist unit.

"Dad!"

Alfred looked round and sighed in relief as Melinda ran over to her, wrapping her arms around the girl once she reached her. "I'm here, Baby, I'm here," she muttered against her hair. "What's going on?"

"Doctor Riordan told me that everything was better than it seemed," Melinda smiled, looking up at Alfred. She still looked as though she had been crying a lot, but there was a genuine happiness in her eyes now that comforted Alfred's fragile nerves. "She said that Mum was only unconscious because he'd hit his head on the ground a little too hard but the only damage that had happened to him was a fracture on his shin."

"Really?" blinked Alfred. She looked round when she heard footsteps coming towards them, smiling awkwardly at Doctor Riordan as the woman stopped in her tracks at the sight of the American.

"Uh…" she muttered, clearly at a loss of words for once. "Alfred, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah," Alfred said, rubbing her neck. "It's a kinda long story…"

"Don't worry, I'm not even going to ask…" Doctor Riordan said. "Arthur's awake again now. I take it Melinda's told you what I've told her?" Alfred nodded. "Good. Well, he can go home has soon as his legs healed up – which shouldn't really be too long considering how quickly you nations tend to heal. I'd give it an hour or so. I've given him some co-codamol to help with his headache, but other than that he's in a fit state for you to go in and talk to him."

"Great!" Alfred grinned. "Man, I thought this was going to be so much worse when I heard about it on the phone."

"It was pretty scary watching it happen, y'know…" Melinda mumbled, rubbing her arm. "I'm sorry I freaked you out though…"

"You didn't freak me out, Honey," Alfred said, putting her arm around her as they walked down to the room Doctor Riordan was leading them to. "Your mom scared me by getting hit by a damn car."

Melinda nodded, looking at the door as they got to it. Kissing her daughter's head in reassurance, Alfred nodded to Doctor Riordan before opening the door and going inside. They both looked at Arthur as he sat up on the bed – he had a bruise on his temple from hitting the ground and a temporary cast on his leg to keep it in shape as it healed. He looked at Alfred and Melinda with wide eyes for a moment, his expression torn between relief, happiness and wanting forgiveness. Smiling softly at him, Alfred walked over to the bed and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

"What am I going to do with you, eh?" she smiled, leaning her forehead against Arthur's gently.

"I'm so sorry…" he replied, looking up into her eyes. "I must have scared you… I'm sorry…"

"Shhh," she hushed, reaching a hand up to run through his hair gently. He closed his eyes and leant into her touch. "Everything's okay now. You don't have to worry – you're okay, Melinda's okay, everyone is okay."

"Mel…" Arthur said, blinking his eyes open and looking round Alfred to their daughter. She was stood back by the door with her arms wrapped around herself, watching her parents quietly. Alfred smiled and moved aside to sit at the foot of the bed, watching as Arthur reached a hand out to the girl. She moved over to him and held his hand, making a little noise of surprise as he gently pulled her down to sit on the bed to be hugged. She closed her eyes and leant into her mother's embrace, pressing her face against the side of his neck and gripping his shirt. "I'm so sorry I frightened you, Honey," he muttered against her hair, pressing a firm kiss to the top of her head. "You should never have had to see something like that…"

"Don't be stupid," Melinda replied almost as quietly as Arthur. "You didn't ask to get hit by a damn car… I should have waiting for you…"

"It's all done with now," Arthur said, smiling at her and then Alfred. The latter moved closer and kissed him softly then Melinda's cheek, smiling at them both. "Mel, hows about you go to a vending machine and get yourself a drink? A little bit of sugar in your system will help calm down your nerves."

"Okay," Melinda nodded, getting up from the bed. She looked back at her parents and smiled as she left the room.

Alfred looked at Arthur as the Briton sighed softly, her eyebrows furrowing as he rubbed his face. "What's up, Arthur?"

"I need to talk to you honestly…" he replied, looking at Alfred. "I can't keep this a secret any longer…"

"What do you mean…?" asked Alfred, getting a little anxious.

"The reason why you're a woman…" Arthur sighed. "Why I was casting the spell… It wasn't intentional of course… I was just trying to come to an answer about something…"

"An answer about what?"

"Why I'm getting weaker…"

"But you've seemed normal…"

Arthur shook his head. "I've been feeling weaker and weaker recently… Mainly in my magical abilities… The ways of a nation are influenced by the beliefs of the people remember… That's why you had difficulty during your civil war – you had two groups of people fighting for the beliefs of a nation. But there's been a drop in belief in magic in my country…"

"Wait what?" Alfred said. "That doesn't make sense though… I thought that more people were believing in magic nowadays than in other times? I mean, look at the pop culture – Harry Potter, Narnia, Merlin. Then there are the imports from my country and other places… Plus there are all those segments that happen on breakfast shows like "I started sleeping with a fairy when I was 9 – I've fathered her 17 children". How can you be getting weaker…"

"I don't know, that's what I've been trying to find out," Arthur replied. "It's my magic that keeps things away from the house when they're lurking in the forest. I don't know if it's my magic or… or if it's me…"

There was a long pause in which the news settled in Alfred's brain. "But… but what does that mean…?" she asked. "You're…"

"Dying?" he supplied. "I… I don't know… That's what I was trying to figure out… Why I was feeling so… It's not uncommon… We've all seen it happen… My mother, your mother… My Dad, even though I never met him… Well, at least no time I can remember… Even Gilbert's nation passed… He's managed to find a loophole with his brother – like Lovino and Feli… The unity of a country and the joint power between siblings. It would be the same with my siblings too if there were no separations… No more England, Wales or Scotland… We'd still be here until the land was gone but still… I don't know what's happening… I'm old Alfred… Incredibly old… I'm well over 1000 years old… You're still only a child compared to me… I don't want to sound patronising but… this is something we're going to have to deal with one day…

"Unless some spectacular turn of events happens which ends your life, there will come a day that you will be the only parent that those kids have… I'm not trying to be morbid here, just practical… You're capable, but you're going to have to be ready for a day when I won't be there anymore…"

"Stop it," Alfred said, tearing up slightly. "Stop talking as though you're going to die at any minute… Stop!"

"I'm sorry, Love," Arthur said, cupping her cheek and catch a tear as it slipped down. "I have to say this… We can't avoid this topic forever… One day my nation will fade. I'll be gone like my mother and your mother before us… In some very distant future, you will be gone too… Those kids need to know what the world is really like and how to survive as nations… They've had and are going to have years where they are like regular children, but as soon as the twins are out of college and university if they chose to go then they will be out in the world as nations. Unrecognised really, and mythological in Melinda's case, but still nations…"

"STOP!" shouted Alfred, looking at Arthur desperately. "Please… Please…"

Swallowing thickly, Arthur nodded slowly and wrapped his arms around Alfred's shoulders – pressing a kiss to the side of her head. He smoothed his fingers through her hair to calm her down, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath near her shoulder. That was the one thing that hadn't changed about Alfred since the change – the scent of her skin. It was warm, sweet and comforting.

"Please, Arthur," Alfred mumbled. "I need you… If you start believing you're gonna die… Please…"

"I'm sorry, Alfred," Arthur replied quietly, and both could tell there was a hanging question about what he was sorry about – upsetting Alfred or knowing he wouldn't be able to stop this playing on his mind. She never said anything more though.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Alfred was a woman right to the beginning of November. The potion was brewing nicely and everything had calmed down since Arthur had been brought home from the hospital. Nothing more was said about the talk that had happened between the pair – both deciding to focus on making sure the kids were okay with everything that was happening.

When Halloween came around, it was only when Arthur saw Alfred's chosen costume that he realised that the girl in Lily's picture wasn't Melinda – it had been Alfred the whole time. He made sure that she stayed inside when nightfall came, going out into the garden and into the woods to deal with the creature himself. When he came back to the house, he explained that it had been a Wendigo – a mythological creature not usually found in the UK, hence why it had attacked Melinda the year before and was after Alfred that year.

Everything had calmed down from that point though.

On the first of November, whilst Melinda had gone off to Marco's to wish him a happy birthday, Arthur was in the kitchen with Grace finishing off the final touches needed to complete the potion. Alfred was sat at the kitchen table in her male clothes ready and waiting to be turned back. She kept grinning at Lily and Ben and shushing them as they giggled at the funny sight before them.

They all looked round as Arthur brought a cup over to them, grimacing at Alfred. "This isn't going to taste very nice…" he warned.

"Well, if your face is anything to go by…" Alfred frowned, sighing as she took the cup. Without hesitation she downed all of the potion in one go to get it over and done with, coughing and spluttering at the taste. She blinked slightly as a puff of smoke encircled her and she felt the clothes fit her properly again.

When the smoke cleared, Alfred grinned at his family as they jumped on him.

"Welcome back, Love," Arthur chuckled.

"It's good to be back," Alfred grinned, pressing a firm kiss to his husband's lips.

_**Notes:**_

**Broken record time: sorry for the delays – life happened basically.**

**So, are we all happy that Alfred's a guy again? And that nothing bad happened to Arthur. Yeah, I'll just let you guys react…**

**Thanks, laters.**


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